County to consider Dona Bay project

After more than 10 years, Sarasota County may move forward on the restoration project of the Dona Bay watershed.

Commissioners will vote tomorrow on approving funding agreements with the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWIFTMUD) and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection for a combined total of $6.8 million in funds aimed at restoring the watershed.

According to the county website, the Dona Bay Watershed is an area encompassing a little under 98 miles, with only about 10 miles located outside of Sarasota County. It contains 24 lakes and ponds, 17 rivers and streams and five bayous and bays. It extends diagonally from Manatee County to Dona Bay, off of Nokomis, where the Bay lets out into the Gulf.

The watershed used to be much smaller – only about 16 square miles. However, man-made drainage projects for mosquito control and flood reduction changed the scope of the area.

Studies of the water and ecology indicate that more freshwater is flowing into the system than before – parts of the Myakka River have been diverted more directly into the system – which could have a devastating effect on the animals, plants and organisms who depend on water with a higher salinity.

Sarasota County has been chipping away at this project since 2002, when the county first began studying the Dona Bay watershed. In 2005, the county contracted a firm to complete a comprehensive watershed management program for the system.

Dona Bay has been on the commissioners’ minds – at the Oct. 7 meeting, the board voted for the restoration project to sit in at the top of the county priorities for federal funding.

If approved, the cooperative funding with SWIFTMUD would provide the bulk of money for the project, up to $6.2 million. If the county fails to complete the project, it has to pay back the remainder of the funding. Construction would begin this spring, and the project would tentatively finish in late 2017.

The county has $5.1 million in matching funds already budgeted in its Capital Improvement Projects for the Dona Bay watershed restoration.

The state will provide a $650,000 grant for the project.

IF YOU GO

What: Sarasota County Commission meeting.
When: 9 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 10.
Where: Robert L. Anderson Administration Center, 4000 S. Tamiami Trail, Venice.