The Coral Bay Watershed Management Project: A Community in Action - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

The Coral Bay Watershed Management Project: A Community in Action for a Sustainable Future

Presented by Sharon L. Coldren, President, Coral Bay Community Council EXCERPTS FROM 2009 CWWA WATER RESOURCES CONFERENCE PRESENTATION

Coral Bay Community Council, Inc.

• Nongovernmental

Organization – NGO --501(c)3

• 6 years old, 200+ members

provide financial support, volunteer

• Remote 3,000-acre steep hills

watershed

• Background: Lack of govt.

knowledge, under the radar, little regulatory protection

• Need for local resource with

voice

Planning Concerns

• Natural beauty
• Stormwater sediment control
• Wastewater management
• Potable water (RO)
• Solid waste management
• Transportation and other

infrastructure

• Social/community

development

• Appropriate economic

development

Water-Related Environmental Concerns Raised by Development Activity

• Sedimentation Runoff

into Ocean

• Potable water –

Reverse osmosis

• Waste Water Mgt
• Dredging for marina,

boats

• Flooding due to earth

change

• Endangered species

Desalination: Environmental Consequences

What are Risks? In a Nursery Bay Habitat…. Sucking up larvae of random species into the intake and killing them

Desalination: Environmental Consequences

• Increasing the brine concentrations in

poorly circulating sea water, leading to:

• Harming sea grass beds –

Endangered species sea turtles critical habitat

• Harming Essential Fish Habitat (EFH)
• Harming Coral Reefs, including

Endangered Acropora species in shallow water

Desalination: Environmental Consequences

• Poor Circulation?
• Environmental Impact statement must be

based on least current, least circulation – since these will happen occasionally and concentrations of brine would rise and be entrapped in bay.

Desalination

• How far out into the ocean would intake

and out-take pipes need to go to be safe?

• Probably farther than economically

attractive

• What kind of production/population use

would be necessary to payback?

• Balance of values?

Ground Water Resources

• largely ignored in recent years…
• Wells not tracked, not being dug
• New interest in injection wells near ocean

to replace desal. Is this safe?

Ground Water Resources

• Could stormwater management efforts

lead to intentionally “charging” ground water areas?

• Could we have more available ground

water?

• Visiting hydrologist says “Yes”

Surface Water Collection

• Utilize natural gut flow concentrations
• Store water in ponds
• What usable water volumes/capacity

could be created?

• Issues? Economics?

Potable Water

• Which of these technologies/solutions will

have the least negative impact on our environment and ecosystems?

• Which will be the most cost-effective

source(s) of potable water?

Conclusions:

• These are the issues of a small

community --like many in the Caribbean.

• We need to plan for safe/appropriate drinking water and wastewater
• ptions for the future.

We need to understand the practical capacity of remoter island watersheds/communities to have self-sufficient “modern public infrastructure” solutions – and look to new and old technologies and ideas, to allow the needed balance between environmental protection and humanhabitation.

Planning

• These are some of the questions that need to be

addressed to determine the best public policy to assure that feasible, safe and appropriate water and wastewater infrastructure are PLANNED in advance,

• Dreams of future economic development need to be

scoped within this sustainable resource plan, and PAY for the plan’s implementation up front – as they do in many areas of the U. S., with impact fees that may be as much as 10% of the total project cost up front.

Thank you! Contact CBCC

• www.coralbaycommunitycouncil.org
• coralbaycommunitycouncil@hotmail.com
• Office – 340-776-2099 phone/fax
• Sharon Coldren, President, 340-513-4298