As we are preparing to start the Rainbow River Restoration Project I was asked again why we are not going to start at the very top of the River. It seemed it would be logical to start where the spring fed river begins so as we worked down stream what we cleaned would stay clean.

I agree that this makes sense in its simple logic. But we will be actually working on a very complex endeavor and there are lots of strings attached to our grant, so it is not going to be that easy. First of all the Permits that are required before we even start the job are very complicated and demanding. Agencies that have the power to issue permits are more comfortable with us if we start on the most impaired section of the Rainbow River first.

Many sections of the Rainbow River upstream from the Lower River that is below the 484 bridge (Right by Swampys Restaurant) are in pretty good shape compared to the River downstream of the bridge. As the river widens out below the bridge with big islands in the middle it slows down and deposits a lot of silt and debris coming from the upper river. This is the most impaired and dirtiest section of the river.

The Lower Rainbow River is full of Hydrilla (some alive and some dead), Lyngbya algae, (some alive and some dead) and an awful lot of muck and silt that has built up from herbicide spraying and erosion in the years gone by. Many sections have deep mats of Lyngbya algae that have created dead zones in the river actually suffocating out the Hydrilla and creating deep pockets of legacy nutrient pollution that needs to be removed.

So where we are going to start is at the top of the most impaired section of the river right below the bridge which includes about 25 acres before the river runs into the Withlacoochee River right by the city of Dunnellon public beach. As we clean this section the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) will be monitoring all of our work carefully and we will be making sure to directly vacuum out the muck and silt up to their specifications.

We will be using a diver vacuuming technique that is a hand held hose without any cutting heads that are found on common dredging equipment. We are not actually dredging we are vacuuming. Regardless we need to have a dredge and fill permit from FDEP. Vacuuming is a way we can see exactly what is being removed and make sure there are no turtles or any other creatures sucked up into the vacuum.

Everything that is vacuumed up is filtered and processed up to FDEP standards and the water is eventually returned to the River cleaner than when it came out. All the muck and silt that is removed will be taken to Farmland and used as a soil supplement after it is processed, tested and approved by FDEP.

Once we have a section of the river cleaned up it will be ready to plant native submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) like eelgrass that can out compete the invasive Hydrilla by putting it’s roots deep down in the natural bottom of the river and crowding out the Hydrilla as it tries to re-establish itself in sections that have been cleaned.

We are going to be very careful and aware of maintaining the areas of the river that we have cleaned and replanted. We will have an ongoing maintenance program that will remove deposits of silt that start to build up again until eventually we can clean up all the sections of the Rainbow River that need it.

Finally as we get things replanted, that will solve most of the major silt problems once and for all. But it will still have to be maintained. The ultimate goal of this project is to get the river in such good shape that herbicide spraying will no longer be needed.

Part of the long term Restoration project will also include addressing areas of erosion and left over spoils from the old Phosphate Mining days. We are look at everything. We are going to do our very best to do the best job possible in cleaning up and taking care of our beloved river.

Things are not going to happen overnight, but at least we are finally getting started with the mechanical help that we need to suck all the pollution out of the river and bring it back to where it should be. Clean, respected, appreciated and well taken care of by the good people of our community working with our FDEP.

For more information visit our website OneRakeataTime.org and sign up to be a friend of the river and get on our email list to stay current as the project moves forward.

Thank you, Art Jones