Minimum Flows and Levels Priority Systems MFL

This data set represents lakes,springs, rivers, streams/creeks, wetlands and aquifers within the SJRWMD that have been adopted or will be adopted by governing board rule. The St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD) which includes all or part of18 counties in northeast Florida, maintains a District-wide effort to develop minimum flows and levels for the protection of water bodies, water courses, associate wetlands, and aquifers from significant harm caused by water withdrawal or diversion. The minimum flows and levels (MFL) project goal is to establish minimum flows and levels for prioritized ground and surface water resources and water dependent ecosystems and to assure water for non-consumptive uses. Minimum lake levels have been established for 123 (November 2011) of the 1386 water body/systems in the MFL lake database. Prioritization of the 1386 water bodies for minimum level determinations is an evolving, multifaceted effort. Minimum lake level determinations between 1985 and 1993 were performed at lakes which had experienced any of the following criteria: Consistently low water levels. Citizen complaints regarding low water levels. Large consumptive use permits (CUPs) for surface water removal allocations. The following three criteria were added to the original criteria during FY 93-94. Legal action. The availability of a surface and groundwater interaction model. The need to develop minimum level criteria at pristine lakes. The prioritization criteria changed in FY 94-95 resulting in minimum level determinations primarily at lakes designated in a legal settlement agreement. The settlement agreement has been the primary criteria for prioritization since FY 94-95 to the present. Additional criteria were employed from FY 96-97 to the present which focused on lakes for the following reasons: Regions with year 2030 projected groundwater drawdown, CUPs, Local government requests, Large pristine lakes (>200 acres) with hydric soils and associated wetland communities, located in regions where few lakes had been studied. For further information go to https://www.sjrwmd.com/minimumflowsandlevels