Both the Florida Springs Council and the Florida Springs Institute have sent out a notice about the water management governing board meeting to vote in the new MFLs for the Rainbow River. (See info below) The water districts have continued their practice of seeing just how much water they can get away with taking from the river. Knowing the river is damaged, knowing that it needs restoration, knowing they are doing even more damage, they continue to destroy it bit by bit so we can accommodate more people, more industry, more bottling plants, more irrigation wells.
Please come to this meeting and tell them to stop. Tell them we want them to leave the river alone. Your historian is going and this is the last paragraph of his speech:
We do not need more wells pumping water from this springshed. We do not need more housing developments. We do not need more people. We do not need a broader taxbase. We do not want these things. . We do not want to read your convoluted rationalizations and complicated formulae. We do not want to hear your contrived justifications for destroying the Rainbow River. What we want is for you to protect our river and you can get a great start by just leaving it alone.
Comments by OSFR historian Jim Tatum.
-A river is like a life: once taken, it cannot be brought back-
.
Join Us As We Rally for Rainbow on March 28th!
We would like to pass along this important message and event info sent by the Florida Springs Council:
At 9 a.m. on March 28th, the Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board will meet to discuss and approve the proposed Minimum Flow for the Rainbow River System. The MFL proposes a 5% reduction in flow and continued pumping from the Rainbow Springs system, which has already lost 20% of its flow.
The agenda for the Governing Board meeting can be found here (see item # 32).
The final draft of the proposed MFL can be found here.
Join the Florida Springs Council and its member organizations for a rally at 9 a.m. to urge the Water Management District to reject the proposed MFL for Rainbow Springs, which will continue to cause significant harm to our springs and aquifer. At 9:30 a.m., participants are encouraged to enter the Governing Board meeting, which will already be in progress, and make comments following their discussion of the proposed MFL, which is agenda item # 32.
BRING SIGNS AND COMMENTS!
Need help drafting your comments? Click on the links below to access resources that may be helpful!
Presentation by Dr. Robert Knight on Draft MFL for Rainbow River System
Rainbow River Conservation Comments on the Proposed MFL for the Rainbow River System
For questions about this event, please contact us at FloridaSpringsCouncil@gmail.com.
Event Details
Date:
Tuesday, March 28, 2017
Location:
SWFWMD Brooksville Office
2379 Broad Street
Brooksville, FL 34604
Time:
Rally begins at 9 a.m. and we will join the SWFWMD Governing Board meeting at 9:30 a.m
The Florida Springs Institute is a member organization of the Florida Springs Council
Jim, you may want to remind members of the SWFWMD governing board to remove their ear plugs before you begin your presentation to them on March 28th. Your final eight sentences of your speech for that governing board are very powerful. My wish is that those governing board members will LISTEN to your words and FOLLOW your recommendations……especially those you will give in your final sentence. Thanks for the speech you will offer, Jim.