District Profile |
The
South Dade Soil & Water Conservation District (SDSWCD) was
organized September 8, 1982 pursuant to the Conservation Districts Law of 1937,
Florida Chapter 582, as a governmental subdivision of the State of Florida. Soil and
Water Conservation Districts are charged with conserving and improving soil,
water, vegetation, wildlife and related resources, and with reducing
damage from floods and sedimentation. |
The main goals of the SDSWCD are:
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Conserve the quality of Miami-Dade County soils while protecting the surficial Biscayne Aquifer. |
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Improve water quality and water conservation. |
| Educate a population with diverse backgrounds, languages, ages, economic levels and attitudes regarding environmental and conservation concerns critical to our area. |
| Facilitate the distribution of beneficial plants, and control and eliminate invasive exotic plants. |
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Monitor and reduce the pollution of coastal areas, the bays, oceans, rivers, lakes and canals within its prescribed borders. |
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Everglades Restoration |
Land Management of the "Frog Pond":
A five year contract with the South Florida Water Management District begun in 1998 allowed the South Dade Soil & Water Conservation District to manage the 4,700 acres in South Miami-Dade County acquired by the South Florida Water Management District known as the Frog Pond. This land is destined to be returned to sheet flow as part of the Everglades Restoration Project. The US Army Corps of Engineers has completed construction of the first water retention cell. The remaining land is currently leased by the SFWMD to farmers until the Everglades Restoration Project is complete. Under SDSWCD management, program income from lease revenue was used to monitor water levels, water quality and to eradicate exotic plants in the area. Dr. Rafael Munoz-Carpena, UF-TREC (shown above with visiting Chinese agronomists) initiated the project and installed infrastructure necessary for continued monitoring. His final report is available at http://carpena.ifas.ufl.edu/Research/Reports.html. The management contract was a direct result of legislation giving Soil and Water Conservation Districts in Florida first consideration to manage state-owned, fee simple, accrued lands that are in agricultural production. This enables local people to deal with local problems.
Past Achievements |
Miami-Dade Water Quality & Water Conservation Coalition
In March of 1998, the SDSWCD organized a coalition of national, state and local agencies that are concerned with water quality and water conservation. The goal is to provide an on-the-scene, pro-active program, working with public and agricultural businesses interested in providing water conservation and improving water quality to our sub-surface and surrounding waters. A $30,000 contribution from EPA allowed the SDSWCD to retrofit mixer loader wells throughout Miami-Dade County, thereby preventing chemical pollution from entering the Biscayne Aquifer, and to do educational outreach in the agricultural community highlighting groundwater pollution prevention.
Hurricane Andrew Mulching Operation 1992
Following Hurricane Andrew in 1992, the SDSWCD was responsible for returning over four million cubic yards of mulch to Miami-Dade County growers, landscapers and homeowners. This amount of mulch would fill a line of dump trucks from Homestead, Florida to Atlanta, Georgia. FEMA stated that the mulching operations by the SDSWCD not only helped to eliminate burning of debris, but was the most cost-effective disaster relief program it had funded.
Richmond Heights Tree Planting Grant
In 1998, a grant was obtained from the Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services, Forestry Division, to plant 170 trees in Richmond Heights, an African-American community in Miami-Dade County with no tree canopy.
C.O.W Compost Project
A two-year pilot Clean Organic Waste (C.O.W) Compost project was conducted with the University of Florida Tropical Research & Education Center (TREC), to research the feasibility of producing C.O.W Compost from institutional waste and exotic invasive plant debris in order to produce a better soil amendment. This product was successfully used by local nurseries and individuals. Funding for this project was eliminated by Miami-Dade County in 1998, citing insufficient waste stream; however, in 2003 the County sought to expand the Medley landfill, revealing a renewed need for clean organic waste processing. Landfilling organic waste only leads to pollution of the underlying Biscayne Aquifer, our sole source of potable water, but Miami-Dade County has still denied funding for this project as of late 2004.
Florida Subtropical Temperature Study
In 1999, the USDA-NRCS, as part of their global warming study, conducted the only on-going subtropical temperature study in the U.S. here in Homestead with the help of the SDSWCD. Sensors placed at seven sites (2 in the Keys) collected data 5 times a day for a total of 1,800 readings for the year. A total of 105 temperature measurements (air, 10-cm soil depth, 50-cm soil depth) were recorded each day from the seven sites. Data retrieval and analyses proved there are isohyperthermic (mean annual soil temperature > 22°C or 71°F) soils in South Florida.
email us at: southdadeswcd@southdadeswcd.org
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