Funds not likely for Orange Lake restoration

Gainesville Sun - October 5, 2001
By RON MATUS
Sun staff writer

Any potential fixes for troubled Orange Lake may be on hold because of state budget woes.

State Sen. Rod Smith, D-Alachua, said Thursday that with state budget cuts likely, chances for new projects to get funding are growing slim.

Environmentalists and fishermen were hoping Smith, who put the lake on the top of his priority list earlier this year, might be able to get millions of dollars from the Legislature to begin removing muck, dig deeper boat channels and perhaps deal with a controversial sinkhole on the lake's south end.

"The numbers I am seeing indicate there will be no new projects approved this year, and that in fact some project commitments will be rolled back," said Smith, who is a member of the Senate Natural Resources Committee.

Smith said he'll know more next week, after the committee begins holding its pre-session meetings.

Economic forecasts indicate the state budget will be more than $1 billion in the red in the wake of a souring economy and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Orange Lake forms the border between Alachua and Marion counties and has been the topic of long-running disputes between fishermen and environmentalists and, more recently, between the Alachua County and Marion County commissions.

Environmentalists say too much muck from dead vegetation is smothering fish habitat. Fishermen, on the other hand, have focused on a water-guzzling sinkhole that has exacerbated the worst drought in a century.

In the past three years, the lake has shrunk from 12,000 acres to less than 1,000, making fishing impossible. Summer rains upped levels slightly, but not enough to make fishermen happy. Earlier this year, the Marion County Commission proposed building a dam around the sinkhole, which has existed on the lake bottom for at least a century. The Alachua County Commission immediately objected.

Since then, representatives from both commissions have met to find common ground, and have proposed working together to get money for muck removal and boat access.

Smith, who promised a list of lake-fixing recommendations by the end of the summer, said he is withholding his report until he hears more about the state budget picture. He said state officials have told him it's likely there will be a "freeze" on new projects.

It's unclear how much money it would take to help Orange Lake.

In August, St. Johns River Water Management District officials presented a legislative wish list that included $800,000 next year for dredging boat channels, $300,000 for stocking fish and $3.5 million for removing muck. The list included $300,000 for stocking fish and $6.5 million for muck removal the following year.

Smith said he remains undecided about the sinkhole, but has received a recommendation from University of Florida Professor Dan Canfield to build a steel-pile dam around it.

Canfield's report says the dam would still allow water levels to fluctuate enough to keep the lake healthy. Environmentalists and scientists at the water district say past human actions that have prevented normal lake fluctuations are a big reason for the muck problem.

"I have not committed to Canfield's plan, but it is a plan I'm looking at," Smith said. "It is a suggested solution."

Smith said he would not support any effort to intervene in the sinkhole without it being part of a broader plan that is "acceptable to both counties."

"My gut reaction is I would just be getting the parties in further conflict rather than doing what I've been trying to do, which is reach consensus," he said.

Ron Matus can be reached at (352) 374-5087 or ron.matus@gainesvillesun.com.

See October 5, 2001, issue of Gainesville Sun for original article.