Preliminary Draft of Strategies for Lake Level Recovery

The following is an excerpt from a Peter Schreuder email, September 9, 2011:

In the following paragraphs I will present an outline of my plans for your consideration and comments. I need your inputs as soon as possible. After I receive everybody's comments John and I will prepare a Power Point presentation, which John will present at the September Stakeholders meeting.

Some of the ideas expressed in the following paragraphs are preliminary and will need to be checked with David Wright of DuPont and with Paul Catlett of Camp Blanding. I also hope that Frank can get together with Paul to check on the invert elevation of the pipe from SW Quadrant Lake to Blue Pond.  In the meeting it was said that the surface water intake elevation could still be lowered by possibly 2 feet. John and I need to know that information.

Here is the outline of my plan:

Short Term:

The objective of the short term plan is to get more surface water flowing to Lake Brooklyn, so that the people can visually see some action.  The basic short term opportunity involves the following action items: 1) lowering the intake elevation of the SW Quadrant pipe to Blue Pond; 2) preventing seepage losses in the Creek channels from Blue Pond to Lake Brooklyn; and 3) investigating if the DuPont deep aquifer production wells at their plant site can be equipped and used to pump more ground water to SW Quadrant lake.

Intermediate Term:
The intermediate term objective is to have SJRWMD and Camp Blanding agree to the installation of the adjustable outfall structure (weir) on Lake Lowery.

It should be pointed out to the SJRWMD that if we will be successful in convincing JEA to pump effluent to Camp Blanding/DuPont, this water needs to go on a daily basis to natural and large rapid infiltration basins which are Lake Brooklyn and Lake Geneva. At this time it would not be prudent to run

10 million gallons per day (mgd) through Lake Lowery in its present hydraulic condition. If it becomes a "pass through" water body, it will be prudent to control and manage its rate of discharge with an adjustable outfall structure.

Long Term:

The long term plan calls for the following action items assuming that JEA will deliver up to 20 mgd: 1) create a 300 - 400 acre wetland system on the Camp Blanding/DuPont property at the point where the effluent discharges on the property; 2) upgrade the conveyance capacity of the natural drainage system to SW Quadrant lake; and 3) construct an adjustable outfall structure in the southwest corner of SW Quadrant lake to be able to discharge surface water from SW Quadrant lake to the Santa Fe basin.

I anticipate that filling sinkholes in the channel of Alligator Creek east can be done by volunteers. We need to use a mixture of no. 54 limerock and bentonite clay pellets. I envision a truck with this mixture to approach these areas where a previous check-up by volunteers under the direction of Paul Catlett has identified the sinkholes which need to be plugged. The rock/pellet mixture need to be shoveled into the sink hole and compressed.

The lowering of the intake level of the structure on SW Quadrant lake will require most likely the cutting of the concrete box and the installation of an adjustable stainless steel gate.

John and I will prepare our PPT presentation. At the meeting John will present our plans and we can hand-out copies of the slides as documentation of our plans.

Please share your thoughts with us.

Thanks,

Peter Schreuder, P.G.
Schreuder Inc
Peter@schreuderwater.us
ph:(813)932-8844 fx: (813)932-2991
www.schreuderwater.us