Intergovernmental Coordination

South Indian River Water Control District works with more than 30 local, county, state and federal regulatory agencies, as well as forming cooperative associations with a number of entities. Many of these agencies have a potential impact on the District's capital improvements, operations, and maintenance.

 

For links to many of these agencies, please visit our Links of Interest page. For information on stormwater, please visit our pages under the Resources tab above.

• United States Envirornmental Protection Agency
• United States Army Corps of Engineers
• United States Fish and Wildlife Service
• United States Geological Survey
• Florida Department of Environmental Protection
• Florida Department of Economic Opportunity
• Florida Department of Transportation
• Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
• South Florida Water Management District
• Palm Beach County
• Loxahatchee River Environmental Control District
• Loxahatchee River Ecosystem Management Area Committee
• Loxahatchee River Management Coordinating Council
• Town of Jupiter
• City of West Palm Beach
• City of Palm Beach Gardens
• Northern Palm Beach County Improvement District
• Indian Trail Improvement District
• Jupiter Inlet District
• Martin County
• Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County
• Numerous Citizen Interest Groups and Committees

Loxahatchee River Management Coordinating Council

The Loxahatchee River Management Coordinating Council was established by Chapter 83-358, Florida Statutes. The Council is comprised of federal, state, regional agencies, and local representatives. It advises the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and South Florida Water Management District on matters that affect administration of the Loxahatchee River Management Plan and identify and resolve intergovernmental coordination problems and enhance communications. The Council is also responsible for the development of the Loxahatchee River Management Plan, which contains the principal goals to preserve and enhance the river’s unique natural values, restore the river’s historic hydrology, and reverse the deleterious impacts of saltwater intrusion on the River’s ecosystems. The District participates as a member of the Coordinating Council due to the fact that the Northwest Fork of the Loxahatchee River is the primary stormwater outfall for the entire portion of the District lying west of the South Florida Water Management District’s C-18 Canal, and the area east of the South Florida Water Management District’s C-18 discharges into the middle of the Loxahatchee River. South Indian River Water Control District and the Loxahatchee River Management Coordinating Council also have several mutual issues and interests.

 

This past year, the Council met on January 29, March 25 and June 24, 2024. The March meeting included a presentation on the Sawfish Bay Marine Restoration, a Loxahatchee River Wild and Scenic Management Plan Update, and Watershed Status Updates. The June meeting included presentations on the Northwest Fork of the Loxahatchee River Eelgrass Project, a Loxahatchee River Watershed Restoration Project Overview and Wild and Scenic Rivers. The Council met on September 30, 2024, to discuss the goals and objectives regarding the management of the Wild and Scenic Portion of the Loxahatchee River and hold officer nominations.

 

Loxahatchee River Pollutant Reduction Plan

The Loxahatchee River Management Coordinating Council began work on developing a Reasonable Assurance Plan to replace the Total Maximum Daily Load that was prepared for the Loxahatchee River. The Reasonable Assurance Plan is a stakeholder driven plan that examines the impairments and prepares solutions, the pollutant loading model and applying the potential projects, and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection determined that the Reasonable Assurance Plan should be changed to a Pollutant Reduction Plan, which is considered a 4E Plan. This plan shows that the reductions do not meet all the Total Maximum Daily Load requirements, but it shows that the stakeholders are working on meeting the reduction requirements.

 

The initial projects show that the Total Phosphorus reductions should be met, but Total Nitrogen is behind. The group prepared additional projects to determine if they could meet the Total Nitrogen reduction. On May 19, 2020, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection issued its notification on the impaired waters rule and waterbody identification numbers that were included in the Pollutant Reduction Plan were delisted due to the approval of the Plan by Florida Department of Environmental Protection. The District is a stakeholder and supports the nutrient reduction and improvements to the Loxahatchee River’s water quality. The goal of a Pollutant Reduction Plan as defined under category 4E from Florida Department of Environmental Protection is to implement appropriate restoration activities, and if necessary, additional study so that by the next assessment cycle, either a Reasonable Assurance Plan can be approved or the water body meets the set standards.

 

Every five years, a pollutant reduction plan update will be completed. The next update is scheduled for February 2025. The update will include results of water quality data assessments, updated annual pollutant loads, any progress in achieving reductions, any monitoring changes, the status of project implementation, estimated load reductions, percentage of load reduction targets achieved, and additional management activities needed, if any, to meet the water quality criteria.

 

Loxahatchee River Preservation Initiative

The Loxahatchee River Preservation Initiative is the outgrowth of a watershed management effort that the Florida Department of Environmental Protection spearheaded in 1996. This multi-agency and stakeholder-based advisory group was organized primarily for the purpose of soliciting, ranking, and submitting to the Florida Legislature a list of projects focused on the preservation and restoration of the water quality and habitats of the Loxahatchee River and its watershed. Agencies and stakeholders are given an avenue to apply for funding on several key projects that are critical to preserving the long-term health of the Loxahatchee River and have not been implemented due to lack of resources and other regional priorities taking precedence. The District participates as a member of the Loxahatchee River Preservation Initiative due to its location within the Loxahatchee River watershed. The District applied for grant funding in the amount of $75,000 for the Loxahatchee River Headwaters Easement Mapping in Jupiter Farms project, with $75,000 in proposed matching funds by the District. The project was ranked second by the Loxahatchee River Preservation Initiative on August 5, 2024, for a grant funding request for the upcoming legislative session. Loxahatchee River Watershed Restoration Project In December 2014, South Florida Water Management District and the Army Corp of Engineers kicked off the Loxahatchee River Watershed Restoration Project, which is part of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan. The renewed purpose of the project is to restore and sustain the overall quantity, quality, timing, and distribution of freshwaters to the federally designated “National Wild and Scenic” Northwest Fork of the Loxahatchee River for current and future generations. This project also seeks to restore, sustain, and reconnect the area’s wetlands and watersheds that form the historic headwaters for the river and tributaries. Planning efforts for the project were put on hold in 2011 and were restarted on January 12, 2015. The project was re-scoped under the Corp’s New Planning Paradigm and existing plan formulation data and analysis was used in the development of a Project Implementation Report and Environmental Impact Statement, to prepare for congressional authorization. South Florida Water Management District and the Corp conducted an alternative formulation and analysis process for the plan formation, which consisted of evaluating alternative plan selections for determining the best project scenarios. As a result of these evaluations and updated modeling, Alternative 5R was selected for the tentatively selected plan. On August 1, 2018, the Project Delivery Team was notified that the Corp’s Headquarters concurred with the Delivery Team’s recommendation for Alternative 5R. The Corp prepared a draft Project Implementation Report and Environmental Impact Statement. The draft report was released on March 22, 2019, and two public meetings were held in April 2019 to solicit public comment. The District submitted comments on May 6, 2019, concerning the plan. The Final Project Implementation Report and Environmental Impact Statement was published. On March 9, 2020, staff submitted a letter with comments, as well as a letter from the Board, restating the need for analysis. The Chief of Engineers and Commanding General of the Corp signed the Project Implementation Report on April 8, 2020. Congress passed the Water Resources Development Act of 2020 and on December 27, 2020, the President signed it. This act included authorization of the Loxahatchee River Watershed Restoration Project.

 

The Project Partnership Agreement between South Florida Water Management District and the Corp, which was planned to be executed by March 2024, is currently on hold, pending evaluation of a new cost estimate for the project. However, South Florida Water Management District is moving ahead as planned with design, anticipating that the Project Partnership Agreement will be sorted out eventually.

 

The two new project features, the M-1 Canal Pump Station and Grassy Waters Preserve Triangle will be designed under the Flow-way 1 design contract. The design contract will also include modeling to determine if any modifications are needed for the existing G-160 and G-161 structures. For detailed information and updates on these projects, see the District Engineer’s full Annual Report..