This month all of UF/IFAS’ regional specialized agents (RSA)
for water gathered in Gainesville to meet with each other and an assortment of
state specialists. Water RSAs are a recent advent in IFAS that many of us water
pros are excited to see in action. Unlike a typical extension agent, an RSA is
assigned a state region in which to exercise his/her insight and expertise.
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| A Gainesville Gathering (courtesy: Michael Dukes) |
Regional Assets
In Florida, water quality and quantity are major concerns.
Having five RSAs in the mix across the state is an asset. “I see the RSAs as a tremendous opportunity in connecting IFAS
resources with water issues that cross political boundaries and water users,”
said IFAS water specialist Dr. Kati Migliaccio. “Water issues are not typically
one well or one stream, they are watershed size or aquifer size.”
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| IFAS water RSAs work within and overlapping the water management districts |
Banner Year
2016 has been a noteworthy year for water quality in South
Florida. Fish kills and algal blooms, symptoms of long term management issues,
made national headlines during spring and summer. Water experts and policymakers
have a significant role to play in the region’s future. Newly minted South
District RSA Lisa Krimsky talked to IrriGator
about South Florida’s water challenges and the regional agent concept.
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| South District Water RSA Lisa Krimsky earlier this year in Miami-Dade |
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What are you most excited about working on in this new position?
Since
I started this position in July, I’ve been spending my time getting to know the
whole South District region and understanding both the broad overarching issues
and the unique local problems that impact South Florida’s water resources. I
have met with local stakeholders, attended numerous meetings and visited with county
Extension offices to learn about the great water programming efforts that
Extension agents are currently doing. There is a lot of enthusiasm and support
for this position, and I am most excited about continuing to work with and
facilitate partnerships with each of these entities so that we can meet the
challenges and have a greater impact in our existing efforts.
A recent article mentioned your interest in the Indian River
Lagoon, can you talk about what the situation is there and what role you hope
to play?
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| Fish kill in Indian River Lagoon (courtesy: WMFE) |
The Indian River Lagoon (IRL) is a large and complex system that spans the length
of 5 counties and recent algal bloom events have led to national attention. The
northern part of the lagoon has been experiencing patchy blooms of Pyrodinium algae
or “brown tides”. These high concentrations of algae plus summer’s high water
temperatures have led to declining levels of dissolved oxygen which have
resulted in localized fish kills. The southern part of the lagoon has also been
experiencing algal blooms, although the type and cause are different from that
in the northern IRL. Blue-green, Mycrocystis algae bloomed in
the St. Lucie Estuary earlier this summer. This event is the result from
high-nutrient, freshwater discharges from Lake Okeechobee as well as localized
runoff from local watersheds. Immediately, one of the roles I hope to play is
to help fill in the gaps in communication between scientists, resource managers
and citizenry. I want to assist in understanding the causes, impacts, and
current research and monitoring efforts surrounding these blooms which will
hopefully lead to support and implementation of nutrient reduction (stormwater
and wastewater) and restoration efforts.
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| Stuart, FL: algae in full bloom (courtesy: AP) |
A
year from now I simply hope to have a good grasp on all the complexities
surrounding water resource issues in South Florida! Kidding aside, I think a
successful first year for me would be to increase our collaborations with local
partners and work together to expand successful localized projects on a larger
scale so that they can be applied throughout the greater region rather than stay
siloed within county-boundaries.
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As
a platform focusing on water quality and quantity, IrriGator will be doing
our best to follow and feature the work of all the water RSAs in the
months/years to come. Stay tuned!
