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CONSERVATION

CONSERVATION

CK Audubon Features Heather Evans on
Yardscaping for Birds in January Talk
2024 January 16

On Monday, January 27, at Christ Episcopal Church, Heather Evans will speak about Salt Tolerant Yardscaping for Bird Lovers. There will be a meet and greet at 4pm, followed by Heather’s talk at 5pm.

Evans will talk about native plants that tolerate occasional salt inundation, like the ones many Cedar Key yards experienced in the past year, as a result of hurricanes Idalia, Debby and Helene. She'll cover why insects are vital for the resident backyard bird’s survival. And, she'll give specific recommendations for plants to support various species of terrestrial birds that migrate to or live year-round in Cedar Key, including both salt tolerant and quick-to-recover native species.

Master Gardener Heather Evans writes and teaches about designing yards filled with native plants that restore humans and support wildlife. Her Design Your Wild newsletter has garnered a following of 10,000+ subscribers who appreciate her research-based advice. Heather, and her daughter Zoe, also offer the website Design Your Wild which includes an online course on transforming your yard.

Heather brings to landscape design decades of experience managing designs in a variety of industries, including apparel, media, and hospitality. Heather’s approach to design has long balanced creativity with analytic rigor and her original research has been published in peer-reviewed journals. An accomplished educator, Heather developed the Design Management MPS curriculum for Pratt Institute and has taught at Harvard, NYU, and Parsons. She has a B.A. in philosophy and an MBA from Harvard

Heather is currently replanting her own yard in Cedar Key with salt water inundation in mind.
 
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CKWSD FAUCETCKWSD WILL MEET JANUARY 13 
 
 
 
 
  
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 FWC RED TIDE REPORT  JANUARAY 10, 2025

NOW IN LEY COUNTY

 

   VIEW MAP OF FLORIDA COUNTIES BY CLICKING ON "READ MORE" BELOW.  

 Current Conditions

Over the past week, the red tide organism Karenia brevis was detected in 86 samples collected from the Gulf Coast of Florida. Bloom concentrations (>100,000 cells/liter) were observed in 22 samples: one from Manatee County, 13 from Sarasota County, three from Charlotte County, one from Lee County, and four from Collier County. We continue to use satellite chlorophyll imagery (USF, NOAA NCCOS) to track this bloom and imagery varies from day to day. Images from January 9 revealed a patch of chlorophyll about 15 miles offshore of Collier County. A second area of smaller patches is located about 20 miles west of Monroe County and 30 miles north of the Florida Keys. It is likely that K. brevis and/or other species are contributing to these offshore patches, but we cannot say definitively at this point; sampling is ongoing this afternoon and results will be made available next week.

Additional details are provided below.
• In Southwest Florida over the past week, K. brevis was observed at background to low concentrations in Pinellas County, background to medium concentrations in Manatee County, background to high concentrations in Sarasota County, background to high concentrations in Charlotte County, background to medium concentrations in Lee County, and very low to medium concentrations in Collier County.
• In Northwest Florida over the past week, K. brevis was observed at very low concentrations in one sample collected offshore of Levy County.
• Along the Florida East Coast over the past week, K. brevis was not observed.

 
new logo W3C  MET DECEMBER 18 
2024  December 18
 
 
The Waccasassa Water and Wastewater Cooperative, the W3C, met in Cedar Key on , Wednesday, December 18, 2024, at 1 pm, in the Cedar Key City Hall..


W3C UPDATE
Dewberry Vice President, presented the attached PowerPoint explanation of the tasks being performed to date. CLICK HERE TO VIEW PRESENTATION.
 
IN ATTENDANCE
The full three-member board was in attendance: Chairperson Robert Partin, Bronson Mayor; sitting in for Vice Chair Joe Hand, was Cedar Key Water and Sewer District Board Member Johnathan Ferguson; and Zim Padgett, Otter Creek Councilor.

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 FWC RED TIDE REPORT  JANUARAY 3, 2025

   VIEW MAP OF FLORIDA COUNTIES BY CLICKING ON "READ MORE" BELOW.  

 Current Conditions

Over the past week, the red tide organism Karenia brevis was detected in 54 samples collected from Florida’s Gulf Coast. Bloom concentrations (>100,000 cells/liter) were observed in nine samples: three from and offshore of Pinellas County, four from Sarasota County, and two from and offshore of Lee County. Satellite chlorophyll imagery (USF, NOAA NCCOS) continues to vary from day to day. Imagery from January 1st and 2nd revealed a patchy region of elevated chlorophyll suspected to contain red tide along southern Sarasota County and offshore of Charlotte to Collier counties. On both days, some areas were obscured due to cloud cover, making it difficult to discern the full extent of the patch; we continue to closely monitor incoming data.

Additional details are provided below.
In Southwest Florida over the past week, K. brevis was observed at background to medium concentrations in and offshore of Pinellas County, background to low concentrations in and offshore of Hillsborough County, background to low concentrations in and offshore of Manatee County, background to medium concentrations in Sarasota County, low concentrations in Charlotte County, background to high concentrations in and offshore of Lee County, and background to very low concentrations in Collier County.
In Northwest Florida over the past week, K. brevis was observed at very low and low concentrations offshore of Hernando County.
Along the Florida East Coast over the past week, K. brevis was not observed.
Fish kills suspected to be related to red tide were reported to FWC’s Fish Kill Hotline and other partners over the past week for Southwest Florida (along Sarasota, Charlotte, Lee, and Collier counties).

CKWSD FAUCETNOTICE OF ELECTION
CEDAR KEY WATER AND SEWER DISTRICT

at
Cedar Key City Hall
809 6th Street
April 1, 2025
From 7 am until 7 pm

If necessary, a RUN-OFF ELECTION
will be held on April 22, 2025

TWO CKWSD COMMISSION SEATS:
Mr. Rosenthal’s and Mr. Ferguson’s seats
Both are two-year seats.
 
Qualifying Period
Tuesday, January 21, 2025, at 8:30 am
Until
Friday, January 24, 2025, at 12 Noon

REGISTRATION BOOKS CLOSE ON
Monday, March 3, 2025
 
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 LOWER SUWANNEE AND CEDAR KEYS
NATIONAL  WILDLIFE REFUGES
 
THE WINTER SOLSTICE IS UPON US...JOIN US ON SATURDAY, DECEMBER 21

THE  20224 December 18

https://mailchi.mp/721b4e7a744a/december-news-brief?e=[UNIQID] 
 
 

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LSCKNWR FRIENDS NEWER LOGO
LOWER SUWANNEE AND CEDAR KEYS
NATIONAL  WILDLIFE REFUGES
DECEMBER 
 NEWS BRIEF

 20224 December 15

https://mailchi.mp/721b4e7a744a/december-news-brief?e=[UNIQID] 
 
 

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CKWSD FAUCETCEDAR KEY WATER AND SEWER DISTRICT EXPLAINS UPCOMING WORK
2 December 2024
 
On December 2, 2024, the Cedar Key Water and Sewer District conducted a brief meeting at 5 pm, following an Open House at 4 pm at the City of Cedar Key City Hall, instead of the CKWSD offices due to the damage from Hurricane Helene. The five commissioners were in attendance: Chair Mike Borelli, Secretary / Treasurer Leslie Sturmer, and Commissioners Joe Hand, Steve Rosenthal, and Johnathan Ferguson.

The Open House setting displayed several approximately four-by-five foot posters explaining what lift stations were and how they functioned. Additionally, a four-by-seven-foot map display detailed each lift station functioning south of Bridge Number Four. Audience members easily located their homes and the closest lift stations.

Most interactive and informative were Superintendent Gabe Doty, General Manager John Rittenhouse, and , of course, James McCain himself. Every conceivable question was asked; audience members walked away more knowledgeable.

At the brief 5 pm meeting, General Manager Rittenhouse introduced Baskerville-Donavan, Inc.’s Engineer of Record for the project, Tyler Lee of Pensacola, Florida. He also introduced the construction management crew, Cody Sutterfield of Select Water and Adam Brang of C and B Civil Engineering.

General Manager John Rittenhouse reminded all those present that, though grants have been achieved, now is the time to again thank Governor DeSantis and Florida legislators Chuck Clemons and Keth Perry, as well as their soon-to-be-seated replacements.

The meeting adjourned at approximately 5:30 p.m..
 
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CKWSD FAUCETCKWSD WILL MEET DECEMBER 
 
 
 
 
  
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CKWSD FAUCETNOTICE:
CEDAR KEY WATER AND SEWER DISTRICT: 
SMOKE TEST 
POSTPONED UNTIL JANUARY 

December 6, 2024 
Due to a schedule change from our Smoke Testing contractor, we will not be conducting Sewer System Smoke Tests in December. These important smoke tests will allow us to determine where significant storm water infiltration exists.

We will alert you to the new schedule after the first of the year. Thank you for your patience!
  
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CKWSD FAUCETCEDAR KEY WATER AND SEWER DISTRICT BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
NOTICE OF MEETING
2024 November 19



The Cedar Key Water and Sewer District (the "District") Board of Commissioners (the “Board”) announces a public meeting to be held at the following date/time:

Monday, December 2, 2024 at 4:00PM EST

The meeting will be held at 809 6th STREET, CEDAR KEY FL 32625, for the purpose of hosting an informational townhall for the Lift Station Rehabilitation Project and conduct other District business. All interested persons are invited to attend and participate in the meeting.



CKWSD FAUCETCEDAR KEY WATER AND SEWER DISTRICT: 
SMOKE TEST 
BEGINNING DECEMBER 9 
2024 November 29


To Residents and Occupants of Cedar Key, Florida:

The Cedar Key Water and Sewer District will be conducting a smoke test of our sanitary sewer system This testing will begin Monday, December 9, 2024. This study will involve the opening and entering of manholes in the streets and public utility easements. An important task of the testing will be locating breaks and defects in the sewer system. The smoke test will also reveal where storm and surface water enter the sewer system.

A special non-toxic smoke will be used in these tests. The smoke is manufactured for this purpose, leaves no residuals or stains, and has no effect on plant or animal life. The smoke has a distinctive, but not unpleasant, odor. Visibility and odor last only a few minutes, where there is adequate ventilation.

Because the plumbing appliances in your house or building are connected to the sanitary sewer system, some smoke may enter your home or place of business if:

•Vents connected to your building's sewer pipes are inadequate, defective, or improperly installed.
•Traps under sinks, tubs, basins, showers and other drains are dry, defective, improperly installed, or missing.
•Pipes, connections and seals of the wastewater drain system in and under your buildings are damaged, defective, have plugs missing, or are improperly installed.

If the plumbing system of your residence/business is adequate and all drain traps are full of water, smoke should not be seen indoors. Smoke observed indoors during the testing would indicate a plumbing deficiency. Should smoke enter your home or business, you may contact us at 352-543-5285 so we can record the location. Location, identification, and correction of the source of smoke that enters your building is advised. Your cooperation will be appreciated. The information gained from this testing will be used to improve sewer service.

Should you have any questions on this matter, please contact John Rittenhouse, at 352-543-5285.
 
  
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new logo W3C WILL MEET DECEMBER 18 
2024  November  21
 
The Waccasassa Water and Wastewater Cooperative, the W3C, will meet on Wednesday, December 18, 2024, in Cedar Ky at City Hall
 
 
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   fwc-banner

 FWC RED TIDE REPORT  NOVEMBER  20, 2024

   VIEW MAP OF FLORIDA COUNTIES BY CLICKING ON "READ MORE" BELOW.  

 Current Conditions

Over the past week, the red tide organism Karenia brevis was detected in 125 samples collected from Northwest and Southwest Florida. Bloom concentrations (>100,000 cells/liter) were observed in 24 samples: one offshore of Pasco County, four offshore of Pinellas County, one from Hillsborough County, five from and offshore of Manatee County, 10 from Sarasota County, two from and offshore of Charlotte County, and one from Lee County. Light microscopy and/or automated shipboard analysis of samples collected between 11/9 to 11/16 confirmed the presence of K. brevis from and/or offshore of Pasco to Monroe counties. Chlorophyll satellite imagery (USF, NOAA) continues to be dynamic, with imagery from 11/19 showing patches of elevated chlorophyll along and/or offshore of Pinellas, Charlotte, and Lee counties.

Additional details are provided below.

In Southwest Florida over the past week, K. brevis was observed at background to medium concentrations in and offshore of Pinellas County, low to medium concentrations in and offshore of Hillsborough County, background to medium concentrations in and offshore of Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte, and Lee counties, and background to very low concentrations offshore of Collier County.

In  Northwest Florida over the past week, K. brevis was observed at medium concentrations in one sample collected offshore of Pasco County.

Along the Florida East Coast over the past week, K. brevis was not observed.

LIFT STATIONS /
GRINDER/PUMPING UNITS...
A PRIMER / THE BASICS
2024 November 18
 
 
PRIVATE STATIONS / UNITS
If you live on the islands south of the Number Four Bridge in Cedar Key and your property sits below the Cedar Key Water and Sewer District’s drainage system, you have a private residential lift station on your property.
 
The purpose of that lift station on your property is to “lift” and pump the sewage from your property up to the level of the CKWSD drainage system, where it is collected into one of seventeen CKW&SD lift stations around the Cedar Key islands south of the Number Four Bridge. Those seventeen lift stations lift and pump the sewage to the wastewater plant on Third Street where it is treated.
 
The lift stations on private properties are sometimes referred to as grinder pumping units, or wet wells.
 
The Cedar Key Water and Sewer District maintains the larger lift station systems that are located on the city right of way. The lift stations units on individuals’ private properties and all piping located beyond the water meter are the responsibility of the property owners. Both the CKWSD’s and individual property owners’ stations are electronically complex units requiring regular maintenance.
 
PUBLIC STATIONS / UNITS
The seventeen CKWSD lift stations will now be refurbished, thanks to grants from the Florida legislature and the energetic lobbying of CKWSD general manager and commissioners, some city officials, ad voluminous missives from Cedar Key based non-profit environmental groups.
 
PUBLIC MEETING
An information meeting presented by the CKWSD will be held on December 3rd. Presenters will explain the process and scheduling of the refurbishing of the seventeen water department lift stations The plan is that two stations will be refurbished at a time, diminishing he slight traffic alterations that will attend the process.
 
FURTHER HELPFUL INFORMATION
Helpful to you might be the two following pieces:
• the first from retired architect and resident Laura Goodwin focusing upon the lift stations on private property;
• the second from CKWSD General Manager John Rittenhouse focusing on lift stations on private properties when power interrupts operation.
 
 
 
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CLAM SCULPTURES: 
CELEBRATION AND UNVEILING
 
Saturday, November 30th, 2-6 pm
Cedar Key Sculpture Garden, 457 2nd Street
 
Join us for a fun, educational, and public art event in which clam sculptures painted by local artists will be unveiled.
 
The project is a collaborative effort with the Levy County Visitors Bureau, UF/IFAS Shellfish Extension Program, and Cedar Key Arts Center. 
 
NOV 18 STURMER CLAM PIECE********



CKWSD FAUCETCEDAR KEY WATER AND SEWER DISTRICT BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
NOTICE OF MEETING
2024 November 16

The Cedar Key Water and Sewer District (the "District") Board of Commissioners (the “Board”) announces a public meeting to be held at the following date/time:

Tuesday, December 3, 2024 at 4:00PM EST


The meeting will be held at 809 6th STREET, CEDAR KEY FL 32625, for the purpose of hosting an informational townhall for the Lift Station Rehabilitation Project and conduct other District business. All interested persons are invited to attend and participate in the meeting.

 
new logo W3C WILL MEET NOVEMBER 20 
2024  November 15 
 
The Waccasassa Water and Wastewater Cooperative, the W3C, will meet on Wednesday, November 20618, 2024, in Bronson.
 
 
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CKWSD FAUCETNOTICE:
CKWSD WATER DISTRIBUTION
2024 November 13
 
The following is a message from the Cedar Key Water Sewer District:

With the Boil Water Advisory rescinded, we will be removing the bottle/carton water and bagged ice distribution from First Baptist Church on Second Street.
 
We owe a debt of gratitude to this great church as it has allowed us the space, noise, and traffic to supply our customers in time of need.
 
Thank you all for your patience, constructive criticism, and kind words as we navigated bringing clean water and healthy sewer services to our island. Cedar Key Strong!
 
 
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CKWSD FAUCETNOTICE:
CKWSD WATER DISTRIBUTION ENDSTODAY
2024 November 13
 
The following is a message from the Cedar Key Water Sewer District:
 
The Cedar Key Water and Sewer District has confirmed that the ice truck will be leaving the island today at 5 p.m.
 
 
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CKWSD WILL MEET NOVEMBER
 
 
  
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   fwc-banner

 FWC RED TIDE REPORT  NOVEMBER 4, 2024

   VIEW MAP OF FLORIDA COUNTIES BY CLICKING ON "READ MORE" BELOW.  

 Current Conditions

Over the past week, the red tide organism Karenia brevis was detected in 76 samples collected from Florida’s Gulf Coast. Bloom concentrations (>100,000 cells/liter) were present in 18 samples: 2 offshore of Pinellas County, 3 from and offshore of Sarasota County, 4 offshore of Charlotte County, 8 offshore of Lee County, and 1 offshore of Collier County. Satellite chlorophyll imagery (NOAA, USF) from 10/31 indicates patchy conditions along Southwest Florida, with elevated chlorophyll extending along ~160 miles of coastline. Elevated chlorophyll levels were observed ~25-35 miles offshore of Pasco County, and alongshore from southern Pinellas County to Lee County. The patch ranges from ~5 miles wide to ~20-25 miles wide off of Charlotte Harbor and Tampa Bay estuaries. Additional details are provided below.


• In Southwest Florida over the past week, K. brevis was observed at background to medium concentrations in and offshore of Pinellas County, very low to low concentrations in and offshore of Manatee County, background to high concentrations in and offshore of Sarasota County, background to high concentrations in and offshore of Charlotte County, very low to medium concentrations in and offshore of Lee County, background to medium concentrations offshore of Collier County, and background concentrations offshore of Monroe County.
• In Northwest Florida over the past week, K. brevis was at background concentrations in one sample collected from Franklin County.
• Along the Florida East Coast over the past week, K. brevis was not observed.

 
CKWSD FAUCETNOTICE:
PRECAUTIONARY BOIL WATER NOTICE RECINDED

2024 November 1

CLICK HERE FOR NOTICE 

 

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NCBS UF IFAS
DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE

  2024October 28

Editor’s Note: This article was excerpted from the Nature Coast Biological Station monthly publication
UF IFAS Nature Coast News, October 2024. 
The NCBS is operated by Dr. Mike Allen.

WE ARE ALL CONNECTED... 

Hurricane Helene has caused dramatic impacts to our communities and to natural resources in the Nature Coast region. Helene caused the highest storm surge ever recorded in Cedar Key, with over 13 feet storm surge (MLLW) recorded at the Cedar Key NOAA gauge. Most folks in our area were spared from storm surge impacts from Hurricane Milton, but the impacts of Helene created huge challenges for many of us. Regarding our facilities at NCBS and the Seahorse Key facilities we help manage, all received damage, which has been summarized on our social media and I won’t go into detail here.  
 
The outpouring of volunteers to our communities has made a huge impact on the initial recovery from this storm, and without those volunteers, we would be substantially delayed in any recovery efforts. We are all grateful for the folks who have taken their time to come to help, often from long distances and much personal expense. 
 
Every hurricane we have faced has created lessons about how to prepare for storms, but in my view the biggest lesson from Helene is that we are literally all connected. In ecosystem science the concept of connectivity is pervasive, where loss of one part of the system influences the rest of the food web. If you lose seagrass habitat, you functionally change the rest of the food web, all the way up to humans. Similarly, damage to oyster reefs, mangroves, and salt marsh all have cascading impacts to forage fishes, predators, sea birds, sea turtles and marine mammals.  

 
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OCTOBER  NEWS BRIEF

 2024 October 17 

SUWANNEE 22 UPDATE 
VISTA, HURRICANE HELENE, AND TERMITES
LAW ENFORCEMENT HOPES