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PBSD MSTBU Minutes 09/09/2024PELICAN BAY SERVICES DIVISION WATER MANAGEMENT & CLAM BAY COMMITTEE MEETING SEPTEMBER 9, 2024 The Water Management &Clam Bay Committee of the Pelican Bay Services Division met on Monday, September 9 at 1:30 p.m. at the Community Center at Pelican Bay, 8960 Hammock Oak Drive, Naples, Florida 34108. In attendance were: Water Management &Clam Bay Cmte. Michael Rodburg, Chair Jack Cullen (absent) Pelican Bay Services Division Staff Neil Dorrill, Administrator (absent) Dawn Brewer, Ops. Support Spec. II Chad Coleman, Deputy Director Darren Duprey, Supervisor — Field I (absent) A►so Present Melanie Miller, Pelican Bay Foundation Susan Hamilton Rick Swider Michael Weir Dave Greenfield, Supr. -Field II (absent) Karin Herrmann, Project Manager I Lisa Jacob, Project Manager II Barbara Shea, Admin. Support Spec. II Jeremy Sterk, Earth Tech APPROVED AGENDA (AS PRESENTED) 1. Pledge of Allegiance 2. Roll call 3. Agenda approval 4. Approval of the 7/29/24 Water Management and Clam Bay Committee meeting minutes 5. Audience comments 6. Discussion of the 2023 Clam Bay Water Quality Report (Jeremy Sterk) 7. Adjournment ROLL CALL Mr'. Cullen was absent and a quorum was established. Ms. Hamilton motioned, Mr. Weir seconded to approve the agenda as presented. The motion carried unanimously. Pelican Bay Services Division Water Management & Clam Bay Committee Meeting September 9, 2024 APPROVAL OF 7/29/2024 WATER MANAGEMENT AND CLAM BAY COMMITTEE Ms. Hamilton motioned, Mr. Weir seconded to approve the 7/29/2024 Water Management and Clam Bay Committee meeting minutes as presented. The motion carried unanimously. AUDIENCE COMMENTS Mr. Patrick Wack, President of the Seagate community, commented on (1) Clam Bay water quality has technically been impaired for the last four years; (2) water quality in Outer Clam Bay directly affects the Seagate community; (3) the Seagate community has looked at aerators, dredging, expanding culverts, and landscaping practices; (4) the Seagate community has hired Taylor Engineering to provide a report (which has been completed) on the water quality in Seagate canals as well as suggestions on improvement methods; and (5) the plan is to discuss the Taylor report with Mr. Dorrill. 2023 CLAM BAY WATER QUALITY REPORT Mr. Jeremy Sterk, Environmental Consultant with Earth Tech (ETE), provided a discussion of the 2023 Clam Bay Water Quality Report which included the following. • Overall, the water quality in the Clam Bay system is just barely considered impaired. Looking at the overall 2023 monthly data, water quality shows improvement over the data from prior years. • The table of monthly data (Mar. 2015 - Dec. 2023) of total phosphorus at 9 sites in Clam Bay was reviewed, which identified 22% exceedances of the 2023 samples (which was half as many exceedances compared to 2022). Most of the exceedances were at stations CB 1 and C132. No significant theories were proposed for the causes of the exceedances at these stations. • The table of monthly data (Mar. 2015 — Dec. 2023) of total nitrogen at 9 Clam Bay sites was reviewed, which identified 17% exceedances of the 2023 samples. This was significantly better than the prior year. It was noted that six of the exceedances were within 5% of the criteria concentrations, suggesting lack of compliance should be interpreted with caution, due to analytical precision. If the exceedances within 5% were not included, then the total TN exceedances would be 11% of samples, which would be slightly above the 10% allowable annual exceedance rate. Some of the exceedances were noted at stations CBI and CB2. • There were no exceedances in copper results for the monthly data from Jan. 2023 — Dec. 2023. • There were 6'h% exceedances in dissolved oxygen results for the monthly data from Jan. 2023 — Dec. 2023. • General recommendations for reducing levels of nutrients include, (1) prevent grass clippings and other yard waste from entering the stormwater system, (2) educate residents and contractors on the County's fertilizer and urban landscaping ordinance, (3) reduce and/or eliminate the use of copper -containing chemicals on lawns and in stormwater ponds, and (4) expand community education on how resident actions can affect Clam Bay. • FDEP has decided to separate Pelican Bay into two separate WBIDs (water body id); Clam Bay and the upland lake system will now be analyzed separately. • The PBSD has had no communications from the FDEP regarding nutrient exceedances. • The "specific conductivity" issue has been corrected by the FDEP. 2 Pelican Bay Services Division Water Management & Clam Bay Committee Meeting September 9, 2024 • Causes of the exceedances cannot be definitely determined, and no reliable "fixes" were recommended. Landscape practices throughout Pelican Bay are not uniform, and therefore impossible to monitor/control. Results at northern sample stations may show higher nutrient levels as these stations experience less flushing, and are the first to receive inputs from the upland lakes, the Ritz, and the bird rookery. High concentrations of nutrients found in lake bottom sediments are kicked up from time to time by storms and heavy rain events. Mr. Sterk commented that the County Pollution Control Dept. maintains the monthly sample data of nutrient levels and that ETE and the PBSD have not received or reviewed any of the 2024 data. Mr. Sterk reviewed heat maps for phosphorus and nitrogen in Clam Bay, which identified the specific areas of high concentrations of these nutrients over the past several years. Mr. Rodburg commented that recent data from the County shows high levels of nitrogen and phosphorus in the reclaimed water used for irrigation in Pelican Bay, which are much higher than the monthly results for these nutrients at our sample sites in Clam Bay. Mr. Coleman commented that copper levels in the PB private lakes are much higher than PBSD monitored lakes. Mr. Swider suggested that we may want to consider replacing our reclaimed water with County tap water. Mr. Coleman commented that this would be extremely expensive and that County tap water also contains nutrients. Mr. Rodburg commented that the PB golf course recently tried drilling a well to obtain irrigation water, and unfortunately this trial was unsuccessful as the water quality was poor and volume was insufficient. Mr. Rodburg questioned whether the water quality data results in Clam Bay have ever been compared to the water quality of nearby areas such as Venetian Bay, Moorings Bay, and the water body on the east side of Vanderbilt Dr. Mr. Sterk suggested that Ms. Jacob obtains water quality data on these other areas from Pollution Control for him to review and compare to our Clam Bay sample results. Mr. Rodburg commented that the committee will report these findings to the board, and convey that we are seeing improvement in overall water quality in Clam Bay. He suggested that additional steps may include educating the community and making landscape recommendations; however, the PBSD has no enforcement authority (the PBF may have some authority). Mr. Swider questioned whether increased hand -dug channel annual maintenance or the addition of hand -dug channels would improve water quality in Clam Bay. Mr. Sterk commented that taking these steps would increase flushing in the system, and therefore, water quality may improve. ADDITIONAL AUDIENCE COMMENTS Ms. Jo Ann Jany asked for an update on the higher water levels across the mangroves in Clam Bay (as she had discussed at the July committee meeting). Mr. Sterk provided a graph of historic water levels at Clam Bay South Well 41. He noted that he has not received 2024 data and will take a look at historic trends. Mr. Wack commented that per the Humiston & Moore website, mean tide ratios (in Clam Pass) have dropped significantly since the June dredge event, with August levels approaching "critical stability ratios." He questioned, after how many months at critical levels, would another dredge event become necessary. Dr. Dave Trecker commented that per the Clam Bay Management Plan, a dredge event would be necessary after four months at critical levels. Mr. Coleman commented that Tropical Storm Debbie adversely affected conditions in the Pass. 3 Pelican Bay Services Division Water Management & Clam Bay Committee Meeting September 9, 2024 The meeting was adjourned at 2:19 Michael R d urg, Ca / � Minutes approved L ] as presented OR [ ] as amended ON 1 % � date