Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/180498
Sarasota News Leader September 27, 2013 Page 56 THE COUNTY COMMISSION APPROVES A PRIORITY LIST FOR SWFWMD GRANTS THAT COULD FUND PROJECTS TO FILTER NUTRIENTS FROM RAINWATER BEFORE THEY WASH INTO AREA WATERWAYS By Roger Drouin County Editor The wetlands restoration at Sarasota's Celery Fields has resulted in a 53-percent decrease in nitrogen over the past two years, the Sarasota County Commission learned this week. That is more than 10 times the initial goal of the restoration project's goal of a 5-percent reduction in the presence of a nutrient that can exacerbate the impact of red tide blooms. "We blew those goals out of the water," said Molly Williams, the county's interim stormwater manager, during the commission's Sept. 24 meeting. Sarasota County staff hopes to see similar results from a Dona Bay stormwater treatment project. "We have that opportunity for the same kind of success with Dona Bay," Williams told the county commissioners. The project will divert rising rainwater from Cow Pen Slough into a 380-acre water storage facility, where the rainwater will be filtered before it is discharged into Dona Bay. This year, the county began the design and permitting process for the multi-phased project, which has an estimated total cost of $7.25 million. Two planned, upcoming phases of the project will cost $3.25 million — with half of the money possibly coming in the form of a Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) grant. The green area on this map shows the proposed water filtration location in North Water Tower Park, where stormwater will be treated before it is discharged into a canal that empties in Whitaker Bayou. Image courtesy Sarasota County