Upper Ocklawaha Basin Management Action Plan

The first phase of the Upper Ocklawaha River Basin Management Action Plan was adopted in August 2007 to address nutrient impairment in 10 waterbodies. The second phase of the BMAP was adopted in July 2014 and focused on five waterbodies that required additional management strategies to reach their TMDLs. An Amendment to the BMAP was adopted in July 2019 that added three new impaired waterbodies and allocated loading reduction responsibilities to local jurisdictions for Lake Harris, Lake Carlton, Trout Lake, Lake Yale, and the Palatlakaha River and the new impaired waterbodies. The primary pollutant of concern is total phosphorus. The BMAP includes management strategies and projects to be implemented by stakeholders that are expected to reduce elevated levels of phosphorus in these waterbodies.

Quick Facts:

Basin Management Action Plan (BMAP)  adopted: August 2007

Basin Management Action Plan Phase 2 adopted: July 2014

Basin Management Action Plan Amendment adopted: July 2019

Lake Apopka Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Restoration Targets adopted: September 2003

Lake Beauclair TMDL Restoration Targets adopted: September 2003

Lake Dora and Dora Canal TMDL Restoration Targets adopted: September 2003

Lake Carlton TMDL Restoration Targets adopted: March 2004

Lake Harris, Little Lake Harris and Helena Run TMDL Restoration Targets adopted: September 2003

Lake Eustis and Haines Creek Reach TMDL Restoration Targets adopted: September 2003

Lake Yale and Yale Canal TMDL Restoration Targets adopted: September 2003

Lake Griffin TMDL Restoration Targets adopted: September 2003

Palatlakaha River TMDL Restoration Targets adopted: September 2003

Trout Lake TMDL Restoration Targets adopted: January 2006

Lake Denham TMDL Restoration Targets adopted: March 2017

Lake Roberts TMDL Restoration Targets adopted: May 2017

Marshall Lake TMDL Restoration Targets adopted: March 2017

BMAP Restoration Area: 562,000 acres

Water Quality Impairment:

Total phosphorus (TP) for Lake Apopka, Lake Beauclair, Lake Dora, Lake Carlton, Lake Harris (including Little Lake Harris), Lake Eustis, Lake Yale, and Lake Griffin.

TP and total nitrogen (TN) for Trout Lake, Lake Denham, Lake Roberts, and Marshall Lake.

TP, TN and Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) for the Palatlakaha River.

Principal Sources of Nutrients:

Historic agricultural areas known as muck farms (legacy source).

Urban stormwater runoff.

Transport of nutrients between lakes.

Wastewater infrastructure and Onsite Treatment and Disposal Systems.

Agriculture.

LOCATION

The Upper Ocklawaha River Basin is located primarily in Lake County. It also encompasses the northwest portion of Orange County, southern Marion County, and the northern part of Polk County.  It contains within it the Palatlakaha River (Clermont Chain of Lakes) Watershed, Lake Apopka Watershed, and the Harris Chain of Lakes (which includes lakes Beauclair, Carlton, Dora, Harris, Eustis, Trout, Yale, and Griffin Watersheds) as well as many other smaller lakes. Trout Lake is a tributary of Lake Eustis. Lake Denham is a tributary of Lake Harris and Lake Roberts and Marshall Lake are located within the Lake Apopka Watershed.

About half the water flow in the Harris Chain originates as a discharge from the Green Swamp as the Palatlakaha River and from Lake Apopka through the Apopka-Beauclair Canal. The Ocklawaha River proper originates at the northern end of the basin as a discharge from Lake Griffin.

Major pathways of water flow are from the Palatlakaha River into Lake Harris; Lake Apopka via the Apopka-Beauclair Canal into Lake Beauclair and downstream to Lake Dora; Lake Harris (by Dead River) to Lake Eustis and Lake Dora (by Dora Canal) to Lake Eustis; and Lake Eustis (by Haines Creek) to Lake Griffin and Lake Yale (by Yale Canal) to Lake Griffin. It is not just water that moves between lakes, but also nutrient loading. For example the major source of nutrients for Lake Dora and Lake Beauclair is water coming from Lake Apopka.

The basin supports sport fisheries and recreational opportunities providing economic benefit to local communities. The lakes and Palatlakaha River provide habitat for various wildlife species, migratory waterfowl, alligators, and wading birds.

Monitoring

Water quality monitoring is required by all BMAPs. The purpose of the monitoring network is to support the evaluation of progress made toward achieving the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) targets for total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), and Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) concentrations. Monitoring locations are geographically dispersed and located in different areas of the basin. 

There are 13 major impaired waterbodies included in the Upper Ocklawaha River BMAP, as well as the tributary streams/canals that connect individual impaired lakes and are covered by TMDLs. Two water quality monitoring networks are used: a trend network that tracks water quality changes in each impaired waterbody, and a potential sources network that provides information about TN and TP loadings contributed by external sources, used in pollutant modeling for the SWIM Program and TMDLs. The Trend Network stations include ambient sampling of impaired waterbodies and major inflows and outflows from them to determine if target TP and TN (where applicable) concentrations established by TMDLs are being achieved and to determine if there are improvements in supplemental and other core water quality indicators (Table 1).  The Source Networks stations provide estimates of loadings into Lake Apopka and the Harris Chain of Lakes from tributaries and other sources, as well as measuring loading reductions associated with specific water quality improvement projects, in addition to following trends. These stations are devoted to water chemistry measurements. The primary and secondary objectives (as outlined in the BMAP) reflect the priorities and provide further detail on the application of water quality monitoring data to support the BMAP. 

Table 1 lists the parameters that are the focus of the BMAP monitoring strategy. The monitoring strategy focuses on core indicators to track water quality trends. These indicators are directly related to the parameters causing impairment. The other parameters are considered supplementary parameters for the BMAP, as they build information about water quality but are not direct measurements of impairment. 

Biological indicators are also a part of the network. Biological data including habitat mapping are collected periodically either as part of DEP’s statewide monitoring efforts or as part of habitat restoration initiatives. Lake Vegetation Index (LVI) data are periodically collected for the larger lakes. LVIs are used to estimate a freshwater lake’s support of a healthy balanced plant community. 

DEP continuously monitors the effectiveness of the monitoring network to fulfill the objectives stated in the BMAP and will continue to coordinate within and across jurisdictions to achieve water quality targets.

Water Quality

The Protecting Florida Together water quality map delivers statewide water quality information. On this site, you can explore the Florida regions that are of interest to you. Individual waterbodies are color-coded based on the assessment status of nutrients and whether they are meeting standards.

The water quality map has information on impairments under the “Water Impairment” tab based on the DEP watershed assessment process, in accordance with the Impaired Waters Rule. When sufficient data is available, you can click the button called “View Waterbody Trends” to see a graph of annual geometric mean concentrations (AGMs) for each parameter over the last 10 years. Additionally, the “Get More Data” button below the graphs allows users to search for additional monitoring data from the statewide database,  Watershed Information Network . 

The Protecting Florida Together water quality maps and graphs can be accessed at the following link. 

  Water Quality Status Dashboard | Water Quality Dashboard (protectingfloridatogether.gov) 

The first phase of the BMAP determined that Lake Apopka, Lake Griffin, Lake Dora, Lake Beauclair, and Lake Eustis had adequate restoration and stormwater management activities completed or planned that these lakes would meet their TMDL targets. Many of the restoration efforts were supported by St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD) through Surface Water Improvement and Management Plans. The focus of the phase 1 BMAP was to implement or continue large-scale lake habitat restoration and nutrient management efforts and implement urban stormwater management programs through MS4 permits. The phase 2 BMAP identified Lake Harris, Lake Carlton, Trout Lake, Palatlakaha River, and Lake Yale as not meeting TMDLs without additional nutrient reduction efforts. The 2019 BMAP Amendment allocated loading reduction responsibilities to local jurisdictions for these five waterbodies and added three new TMDLs (Lake Denham, Marshall Lake, and Lake Roberts) to the BMAP as well as updating projects and nutrient budgets for all TMDL waterbodies. Some of the activities completed or underway are described below.

There are significant projects that address loading from former agricultural lands. Purchase of former agriculture land and subsequent management to reduce discharges of nutrients such as the purchase of the Lake Denham muck farm to reduce loading for the Lake Denham TMDL. The removal or treatment of discharges of poor-quality water along with restoration of wetland habitat in Lake Griffin’s Emeralda Marsh, Lake Apopka’s North Shore, and the Lake Harris Conservation Area are also examples of effective land restoration. Harvesting of rough fish in Lake Apopka and previously in several of the other large lakes is an effective way to reduce within lake nutrient loads. Other large-scale projects restore in-lake water quality or treat discharges to downstream lakes. Examples are the Lake Apopka marsh flow-way, Trout Lake Hybrid Wetland Treatment System, and the Nutrient Reduction Facility (NuRF) located off the Apopka-Beauclair Canal.

All agricultural nonpoint sources in the BMAP area are statutorily required either to implement appropriate BMPs or to conduct water quality monitoring that demonstrates compliance with state water quality standards. FDACS’ Office of Agricultural Water Policy (OAWP), Florida Forest Service, and Division of Aquaculture develop and adopt BMPs in coordination with DEP, UF–IFAS, and applicable producer groups. Producers that choose to implement BMPs must file a signed Notice of Intent (NOI) and BMP checklist with FDACS and implement the applicable BMPs. Cost share dollars from SJRWMD and FDACS are used by agricultural producers for upgrading to more efficient irrigation and fertilization practices that reduce water use and nutrient loading.

Urban stormwater projects include best management practices (BMPs) such as stormwater ponds, exfiltration trenches, baffle boxes that remove debris, swales, and street sweeping, erosion and sediment control, as well as projects that reduce nutrient sources such as local ordinances (e.g., fertilizer and pet waste ordinances), public education, and Florida-friendly landscaping practices. These projects can occur at a variety of scales including county-wide, city-wide, and within the boundaries of special districts. Additionally, some areas may be covered by multiple programs or ordinances.

Due to the varying scales of nutrient management strategies, certain project types are not easily represented as point features in geographic information systems (GIS). However, to be displayed on this map points have been estimated for as many projects as possible.  

The BMAP implementation process uses adaptive management to adjust when circumstances change, or monitoring indicates the need for additional or more effective restoration strategies. Adaptive management measures may include recommending additional restoration projects, updating the information in the water quality model, updating the model itself, adjusting allocations, or including new statutory requirements. 

More information on projects in the Upper Ocklawaha BMAP can be found in the latest  Statewide Annual Report . 

Nutrient TMDLs for 13 waterbodies within the Upper Ocklawaha River Basin have been adopted and are listed along with loading and concentration targets in the  table, shown at right. The 2019 BMAP Amendment sets a target date of 2027 for achieving TMDL targets for all impaired waterbodies. Attainment of water quality for the Harris Chain of Lakes is evaluated as a 10-year rolling average compared to the baseline period of 1991-2000 used for model development. Lake Apopka has a baseline period of 1989-1994.

Annually, DEP works with stakeholders to track BMAP project implementation and to review progress. The updated project list for the prior calendar year is presented by July 1 in the Statewide Annual Report. A complete project list can be downloaded from this site, for those interested in detailed project information.  To promote progress and implementation, BMAP stakeholders meet annually to follow up on plan implementation, share new information, and continue to coordinate TMDL restoration–related issues.  

In this BMAP, the following statements summarize the progress of the overall reductions and provide an indication of the challenges related to reducing pollutants from different sources. 

Overall

• Total phosphorus reductions are on track to meet the total reductions required to meet the TMDL in Lake Apopka, Lake Carlton, Lake Harris, Lake Yale, Trout Lake, and Palatlakaha River. 
• Total phosphorus reductions are not on track to meet the total reductions required to meet the TMDLs in Lake Beauclair, Lake Dora, Lake Eustis, Lake Griffin, Lake Denham, Lake Roberts, and Lake Marshall. 
• Total nitrogen reductions are on track to meet total reductions required to meet the TMDL in Trout Lake and Palatlakaha River. 
• Total nitrogen reductions are not on track to meet total reductions required to meet the TMDL in Lake Denham, Lake Roberts, and Lake Marshall. 

Urban

• After an initial period of identifying and quantifying projects, local entities have struggled to identify and fund additional urban stormwater projects to achieve the necessary reductions. 
• Implementation of source control measures is needed to decrease the amount of nutrient loading. Examples of source controls include public education and local ordinances to address residential fertilizer, over-irrigation, and pet waste. 

Agriculture

• Some agricultural producers are not compliant in their requirements to enroll in applicable BMPs or conduct water quality monitoring.  
• Since owner-implemented BMPs are also cost effective, these BMPs may have been implemented prior to enrollment and are, therefore, not a new reduction in loading. 
• Agricultural cost-share implementation may be needed to address these sources.

Wastewater

• The wastewater loads have been allocated in the TMDLs and are incorporated into the applicable permits.   

• The wastewater provisions in the BMAP have not yet been fully implemented but will be added as permits are renewed.

• Additional domestic wastewater reductions are expected as a result of new legislation that expands the requirements for advanced treatment of wastewater. 

OSTDS

• This BMAP did not specify reduction requirements for OSTDS; however, enhancement or septic-to-sewer conversion projects are included as applicable projects. Future BMAP updates will include additional provisions to address OSTDS loads and to meet new legislative requirements. 

More information on progress in the Upper Ocklawaha BMAP can be found in the latest  Statewide Annual Report .