The water district permits allow farmers to use massive
quantities of ground water for flood irrigation which is an
extremely wasteful irrigation practice that raises the water
table to a level within the plants' root zone. The area's porous
underground allows rapid drainage of irrigation water as surface
run-off into nearby creeks and rivers. The Water Management
District bought the three thousand acre Flatford Swamp in the
upper Myakka River in 1991 using state conservation fund monies.
But 10 years later, Flatford Swamp was a forest of dead trees.
Although the district has known for years that the cause of the
tree deaths was dirty irrigation water pouring off of vegetable
farms and from District-funded water capture and impoundments,
for several years the district never checked to see what its
projects were doing, and took no action when it discovered that
the projects were not built according to approved plans. "The
district is not taking responsibility for its actions; it's a
big part of the problem and