Presidents Report by Dennis Barnhardt

There are several things I wish to make mention of in my report. First I want to thank all of the Clay County Commissioner Candidates that took time from their schedules to make an appearance at our meeting last month. All seven of them showed up, unfortunately I can’t say that we had packed the hall with our members. With our membership we should have had standing room only. I only hope that we haven’t sent the wrong message to our candidates. I would encourage each of you to get to know the candidates who are running for our county commissioner district #4 and let them know we are of concern about the issues with the lakes.

As I stated in the last month issue of our newsletter we created five questions for the candidates to answer at the forum. The questions were primarily centered around the issues with the lake conditions and the projects that we are currently looking into such as the Option #5 pipeline, Option #6 augmentation well, and other water resource suggestions. We purposely gave each of the candidates the list of questions prior to the meeting. The reason for this was to allow each of them the opportunity to do some research for their answers. The method to our madness was to make each candidate have to research his or her answers. While interviewing the candidates prior to setting up the forum several of them were actually clueless as to what was going on in Keystone Heights concerning the issues of the lakes and that was scary!

But the forum was a success. The candidates did their homework and some of them did very well with their research. I was very impressed with some of their answers. Some of them worked very hard. Now I will be honest some of them still didn’t sound as if the lake levels were a priority on their list and we need someone who will be there to support us as our county commissioner. So I suggest when you vote for Clay County Commissioner District #4 you take in consideration of where they stand concerning the lakes in Keystone. Although I feel they all have an understanding for our concerns about the issues with the lake levels here in Keystone.

The next topic I wish to address is the election of Officers and Board members, which is coming up at our next meeting. As for myself I feel it is time for me to step down from the position of President of the organization. I do this with some reserve but I also feel we need some new leadership. I know some of the other officers have also expressed a desire to resign their positions. Lets face it some of us have been at this for over six years and some of our people are getting burned out. In order for the organization to prosper and continue to stand tall we need some new people with vigor and fresh ideas. I have to take my hat off to the members and officers who have stayed the course through the years with some rough times and long procedures of having to deal with red tape. Many were skeptical and had little faith but continued to say we will not give up! So I would greatly appreciate it if some of our members would step up to the plate and relieve some of the old tired players. This organization has done miracles and we need to keep it active. It is not my intention to just leave but I will continue to be active with this group in whatever means I can be of assistance. I just feel there is a need for new direction and in order to accomplish that we new fresh ideas and new people. Again I encourage each and every one of you to be in attendance at that next meeting, PLEASE.

The other topic I wanted to make mention of is the recent drought period and the decline of the water levels of the lakes. We are currently running a deficit of 6.09 inches (March and April) in rainfall for a period of over eight weeks. Some of the lakes are showing signs of decline in their water levels. (White Sands Lake has dropped 4 inches) This is normal for the lakes to fluctuate with the rain or lack of rain. I am happy to report that at the time of this article water was still flowing in Alligator Creek under Immokalee Road Bridge, while it too has shown signs of decrease it is still flowing. This all the more reason why we need to continue to find alternate water resources to keep Alligator Creek flowing.

Vice Presidents Report by Tom Jones (No report at this time)

Treasurers Report by Duane Gill (No report at this time)

Public Relations Committee Report by Duane Gill

Let us not become complacent in thinking that Option #3 is going to fill Lake Brooklyn. The original “Stakeholders Group” voted unanimously for options 3 & 5 to be implemented. Option #3 is now completed however, in order to fill Lake Brooklyn, existing options need to be fine tuned to ensure that we are getting maximum water flow into Alligator Creek. Alternate water sources need to be found.

Questions that need to be asked:

1. Is Option #1 complete?

2. Is Option #2 complete?

3. How much progress have we made on Option #5?

4. Are we looking for alternate water sources?

The prominent citizens and elected officials of Clay County and Keystone Heights unanimously agreed upon the options already in place.

Recently comments have been made and letters written implying that we need to be satisfied with Lake Brooklyn’s water level. This mind set is detrimental to our progress and the total recovery of Lake Brooklyn. As a Board Member of this Association I totally disagree with this thinking as it is detrimental to the completion of our goals. We need to stay focused and assertive in our efforts to complete our mission.

Having said the above, let us remember the importance that Lake Brooklyn brings to Keystone Heights and surrounding community. Families and visitors can once again enjoy our many lakes and all they offer. Our job is not finished! I have many fond memories of Keystone Heights as a child. We can create new memories for our children also. I joined this Association to give back to my community and to help return Keystone Heights to its original splendor. If you would like to be a part of what our group “Lake Region Council Association” has accomplished with the help of our friends and community leaders, please join us at our next meeting at the Keystone Heights City Hall on the second Monday of the month at 7:00 p.m. Join us and make a difference!

Duane B. Gill Sr.

Treasurer & Chairperson Public Relations

Committee

Did You Know

I know we have used this “Did You Know” article before but it warrants repeating. We have had recently some new members and questions asked by the candidates running for Clay County Commissioner pertaining to Brooklyn Lake and how it “leaks”.

It is a well-known fact that Brooklyn Lake is a very “leaky” lake. Brooklyn Lake has historically shown radical water level fluctuations. Primarily due to the fact the lake has a sandy permeable bottom. Lakes that have sandy bottoms tend to increase their hydraulic seepage during periods of rainfall or a lack of rainfall. This was obvious when we went through the prior drought (1998 - 2004) and Brooklyn Lake nearly dried up while other lakes, such as Santa Fe Lake only dropped a few feet in depth. There are some people who believe that Brooklyn Lake is a direct vertical “funnel” to the Floridan Aquifer. While others believe that the seepage from the lake contributes more to the groundwater or water table rather than a direct route to the Floridan.

December 1998 -

An empirical study was done on the hydraulic seepage of Brooklyn Lake. A graduate student, James D. Hirsh, titled the “Characterization of Hydraulic Seepage within Brooklyn Lake, Keystone Heights, Florida”, made a study. It was an abstract thesis presented to the University of Florida as part of his fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science. This study was to determine the variations in hydraulic seepage within the lake. The method that was used was the seepage meter method, which utilizes a 55-gallon drum and a plastic bag filled with a predetermined volume of water. The drum was used to calculate a seepage velocity or a seepage value. Seepage was measured within littoral and non-littoral parts of the lake. Mr. Hirsh actually dove into the lake using scuba gear placing the seepage meter drums in strategic locations. James placed nineteen drums into the lake. Also lake-bottom core samples were taken and analyzed to estimate the permeability of different areas of the lake. The conclusion of the study, using the seepage meter method, according to the average seepage meter measurements, approximately 81 percent of all seepage outflow measured during the study occurred within shallow littoral (the shore or beach) sections of the lake. Where as only 19 percent of seepage occurred in the non-littoral areas. (the lake bottom)

“Direct measurement of seepage using the seepage meter method has been shown to be an accurate method of measuring the magnitude and distribution of seepage inflow or outflow within a lake.” (Boyle 1994)”

Another fact that should be noted is that Brooklyn Lake when it is at its peak water level sits at an elevation of 115 feet above sea level. Most of the lakes in our lake region sit at elevations of 75 feet to 95 feet. Therefore Brooklyn Lake is geologically at a higher elevation and would have a greater tendency to fluctuating water levels. Now what happens to that water seepage is questionable but common sense would tell you that some portions of that water is going into the water table.

Most of our lakes in this area rely on the water table for a source of water.

Remember the law of physics, water will seek its own level or another way said, it would try to level itself.

This is why we must focus on water resources that will help to sustain the water table. Rainfall being the number one resource means we need to find ways of capturing the rainfall in reservoirs and have a system that can deliver that water down into the lakes.

News You Can Use

March 20, 2006

Lyndel Hale informed LRCA that the culvert, which was placed at the man-made North Quadrant Lake in the old mining area that connected the lake to the rim ditch, had been removed as requested. The culvert was removed by Paul Catlett, who is the supervisor of Forestry on Camp Blanding, and by some of his workers. The reason for the removal of the culvert was the old culvert was not allowing the flow of water to flow from the lake into the rim ditch. The culvert was placed many years ago to interconnect the lake to the rim ditch but when it was laid the end of the culvert that the water would flow out of into the ditch was actually setting higher than the end that the water flowed into from the lake. Paul and his people took backhoes and actually dug a canal between the lake and the rim ditch, which should allow the water to flow easily. Thanks Mr. Catlett for your hard work and help.