The East County Water Control District’s stimulus-funded Harns Marsh Phase I improvement Project is right-on schedule with its replacement three water control structures in Harns Marsh – a 578-acre preserve which serves as a major stormwater retention/detention area.

The project’s anticipated completion date is January 2010, at which time ECWCD will be able to drain the Marsh ahead of a storm and remotely close gates in order to capture as much water as possible for groundwater recharge.

Harns Marsh Phase I project will allow ECWCD to ensure that flood waters flow properly; will reduce flooding to its downstream neighbors on the Orange River; improve water quality; and recharge the local groundwater aquifers.

The project is crucial to the flow of water through Lehigh because ECWCD’s 311-mile canal system and 20 lakes flow into the Caloosahatchee River via four outfalls: Orange River, Bedman Creek, Hickeys Creek and Carlos Waterway.

Harns Marsh is divided into two sections, the North and South Marsh, and is used to route the flow, filter and treat water before it moves to the Orange River.

The Harns Marsh Phase I Project allows for the replacement of three existing water control structures, H-M-1, H-M-2 and H-M-3, in order to more effectively regulate the flow of water, at Harns Marsh.

The project is one of the first Federal stimulus funded projects in Southwest Florida. It is funded in part by a $350,000 Florida State CBIR grant; $170,187 from South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) grant money for Watershed Initiatives; and $1.45 in Federal Stimulus loan monies administered by Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP).

Carla Ulakovic is a community project specialist with the East County Water Control district. – Ed.