HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes November 17, 2011St. Lucie County Sustainability Advisory Committee
November 17, 2011 Meeting Minutes
Present: Chairman Eric Winterstein, Bob Cenk, Ryan Strickland, Marty Laven, Derrick Dukes, Donna Rhoden
Staff and Guests: Sandra Bogan (ERD), Jason Bessey (PW); Ray Marankus (SLC Utilities), Chris Lestrange (PW),
Gary Chrysler (Siemens Energy), Bill Graf (SFWMD), Dennis Corrick (Dean Meatl), Linda Hoppes (SFWMD)
The meeting was called to order by the Chairman at 1:33 pm.
Linda Hoppes, Lead Planner, Water Resources Division, South Florida Water Management District, gave a
presentation on the 2011 Upper East Coast Water Supply Plan.
Currently, St. Lucie County is using 29% re-use water; Martin County is using 54% and Indian River County is using
82% re-use flow. Ray Marankus indicated that on Hutchinson Islands, 96% of the water consumption is re-use.
Linda indicated that potable water in this area is from the surficial aquifer (55%) and the Floridan aquifer (45%).
Floridan water is brackish.
Some of the issues related to water resources in this area are that the surficial aquifer is limited and withdrawals are
increasing. Agriculture uses surface water as primary source and then Floridan.
Water source options:
• Conservation
• Reclaimed
• Aquifer storage and recovery
• Surface
• Sea water
• Floridan Aquifer
• Reservoirs
• Surficial Aquifer
Currently all these sources are being used except for aquifer storage/recovery and sea water.
Potential solutions:
• Instill ayear-round conservation ethic
• Codify in local ordinances restricted water use (for example Stuart restricts to 2 days/week, not 3)
Ray Marankus stated that the county has no limitations on use of reclaimed water. SLC has 5 treatment plants: N. &
S. Hutchinson Islands, Holiday Pines, Lakewood Park, and the Fairgrounds.
Jason Bessey, SLC Public Works, said that the total daily maximum loads for St. Lucie River are measured at the
Roosevelt Bridge. Only 2 sites in SLC still have biosolid permits: Evans and Florida Made Groves. All sites must have
new permits by Jan. 2012.
AA sludge no longer is considered biosolids, instead 'fertilizer.' D.A.C.S. regulates'fertilizer'; could become an issue.
The State Stormwater Rule is important and 5 years in the making. The Sustainability Committee could request that
the BOCC support the Florida Association of Counties to pass this rule. This rule alone will take care of a lot of
issues.
Another item the Committee could recommend is a mandatory re-use ordinance to be passed so when re-use pipes
go in, it's mandatory totie-in.
MOTION TO APPROVE minutes from the September 15, 2011 meeting made by Donna Rhoden and seconded by
Marty Laven, passed unanimously.
MOTION TO ADJOURN made by Ryan Strickland, seconded by Donna Rhoden, passed unanimously. Meeting
ended at 3:10.