Sarasota County Dona Bay Hydrologic Restoration Program, Phases III-V

The Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council is contributing $1,107,192 to the watershed restoration of Dona Bay in SarasotaCounty, Florida, under the current award for the project. The planned contribution from the Florida State Expenditure Plan is about $1.2M for this project. This hydrologic restoration project, sponsored by the Florida Gulf Consortium and SarasotaCounty, helps reduce the rapid flow of freshwater and pollutants from historical drainage canals to create a more natural flow. The increase in freshwater has changed the salinity in the estuary contributing to a reduction in quality of coastal aquatic life, such as seagrass and oysters. Improving water storage and freshwater flow regime in the watershed are expected to help reduce the negative impacts of excess freshwater, such as increased sediment and nutrients flowing into the Bay, allowing coastal ecosystems in the estuary to recover and be sustained through time in a more natural state. Future project phases will include the design and implementation of additional freshwater storage capacity in the basin.