FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTA
ACT: Vanes
ssa Fultz, Office
O
of Com
mmunicatio
ons
Suwann
nee River Water
W
Management Disstrict
386.362
2.1001 or 80
00.226.106
66 (FL)
www.myysuwanneeriver.com
MD water supply
s
re
estoration
n projectt recharge
es aquife
er at Mallo
ory
SRWM
Swamp
p
The water holding capaccity at Malloryy Swamp, Augu
ust 1, 2012.
LIVE OA
AK, FL, Aug
gust
9, 2012 – Tropical
Storms Beryl
B
and
Debby showered
s
Mallory Swamp
S
in
Lafayette
e County with
w
record ra
ainfall, and a
month la
ater the swa
amp
is still ho
olding water
and rech
harging the
aquifer as
a nature
intended
d. That wate
er
would ha
ave run off to
the Suwannee and
Steinhattchee riverss, if
not for efforts
e
to
restore the
t property
y back to itss natural hyydrology.
For nearrly 40 years
s the land was
w used fo
or timber prroduction, and
a water was
w drained
d off
the prop
perty throug
gh a networrk of canalss and ditche
es that were
e periodicallly dredged and
kept free
e of silt and
d vegetation
n. But since
e 2002, nea
arly 30,000 acres of the
e swamp have
been un
nder the ownership and
d care of th
he Suwanne
ee River Water Manag
gement
(District)), whose vis
sion is to re
everse the impacts
i
of hydrologic
h
alterations..
g was provid
ded by the District and
d the U.S. Department
D
t of Agricultture, Natura
al
Funding
Resourcces Conserv
vation Servvice. A large
e portion off the funds was spent on the
installatiion of 311 culverts
c
and
d 57 ditch blocks
b
to restore naturral drainage
e patterns.
“The goa
al is to restore the pro
operty’s ability to hold water
w
on the land, as iti did prior to
t
the alterrations,” said Bob Hee
eke, Districtt senior land
d resourcess manager. “These effforts
will rehyydrate wetla
ands, recha
arge the aqu
uifer, and support wate
er supply.”
The property’s holding capacity was recently put to the test. The swamp receives no
inflow of water from streams, since it sits atop a hill. Rainfall is the only way to hydrate
the land.
Prior to Tropical Storms Beryl and Debby, the swamp was suffering its driest period
since the 1950’s. The land was parched with no water to speak of.
The storms brought an average of 32 inches of rain to the area in about one month,
almost as much as was received during the previous 12 months. Groundwater levels
rose about 6 feet.
“Groundwater levels there have gone from record low in all monitor wells to record high
or near record high in a record amount of time,” said Megan Wetherington, District
senior professional engineer. “A month later, water is still there and will soak into the
surrounding aquifer for months.”
Restoration efforts have enabled the property to store approximately 10 billion gallons of
water, and with the recent rainfall the swamp is at capacity.
Heeke said current conditions indicate the project is doing what it’s intended to do.
“Instead of water draining to the rivers, it is now being captured in the swamp and
replenishing the aquifer,” he said.
The District will continue to monitor water levels over the long-term to determine the
success of the project.
Heeke said the District’s purchase and restoration of Mallory Swamp, which is the
District’s largest restoration project to date, is a key example of the District’s land
acquisition and management programs and their importance to water supply and flood
control.
“The change in land ownership and land use means the property will store water and
serve as a recharge area as it used to do, and flooding will be reduced downstream,” he
said.
The rain events have not affected public use of the property. For more information about
the District’s land acquisition and management programs or to access a map of Mallory
Swamp, visit www.mysuwanneeriver.com.
###