SOUTHERN GOLDEN GATE ESTATES HYDROLOGIC RESTORATION PLAN
Gail Abbott and Ananta Nath
South Florida Water Management District
ABSTRACT
Southern Golden Gate Estates (SGGE) encompasses approximately 94 square miles of
predominately wetlands in south central Collier County and is part of a failed real estate
development. Construction of road and drainage canals have lead to groundwater drawdown,
exotic species invasion, wetland degradation, intense wildfires and unnatural salinity levels in the
downstream estuaries. The State of Florida included the area in the "Save Our Everglades"
Conservation and Recreational Lands program in 1985. Approximately 40 percent of the land has
been acquired. The South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) recently completed
development of a conceptual hydrologic restoration plan for SGGE. The primary objective of the
study was to reduce overdrainage and restore historic sheetflow while maintaining flood
protection north of the project. A continuous process hydrologic-hydraulic simulation model of
the watershed was developed using the EPA's watershed modeling program Hydrologic
Simulation Program-Fortran to quantify rainfall-runoff patterns and soil storage components
under five alternative restoration plans. An alternative with structural components of spreader
channels, canal plugs, pump stations and partial leveling of roads was recommended. After the
plan was submitted to the Governor in early 1996, the State's Department of Environmental
Protection initiated an inter-agency review for gaining a better understanding of the plan, roles of
affected agencies, issues in need of resolution and time line for the project. Currently, the
SFWMD and the Natural Resource Conservation Service are involved in an cooperative
watershed planning agreement to obtain additional topographic, vegetation and soils data for
analyzing the ecological impacts of restored hydrologic regimes. The hydrologic and ecologic
restoration of SGGE is unique in its notable size and flood protection constraints and will require
an interdisciplinary and cooperative approach among many agencies as well as a strong
commitment from the public.
