The Venetian Golf and River Club is located in 2 watersheds — the Dona Bay Watershed and the Myakka Bay Watershed.
The Dona Bay Watershed has grown significantly in the past 100 years. Decades of projects have enlarged the watershed — Dona Bay receives freshwater runoff from nearly 100 square miles which has resulted in nutrient pollution.
The Dona Bay Watershed Management Plan is designed to reverse this trend by not only restoring the watershed and reducing the freshwater flow to Dona Bay, but also redirecting up to 15 million gallons a day to the public water supply. This map shows Dona Bay Surface Water Storage Facility, created during Phase 2.
Currently, the project is in Phase 3, which focuses on replenishing the aquifer. This involves drilling aquifer recharge wells in the southeast corner of the water storage facility. This will reduce the amount of freshwater entering Dona Bay, leading to improved salinity and water quality in the estuary. It’s also estimated this will significantly reduce nitrogen input into the bay by 75,000 to 150,000 pounds annually.
A crucial part of Phase 3 is the exploratory well drilling project which is to begin this summer.
See report for additional information.
