The Kissimmee watershed forms the headwaters of the Kissimmee-Okeechobee-Everglades system. The watershed encompasses a diverse group of wetland and aquatic ecosystems, including more than two dozen lakes, their tributary streams, and the Kissimmee River. The key strategic priority of the Kissimmee Division is to integrate Kissimmee watershed management strategies with Kissimmee River restoration. In line with this priority, the primary goals of the Kissimmee Division are to restore ecological integrity to the Kissimmee River and its floodplain ecosystem, develop a long-term management plan for resolving water and other management issues in the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes, and retain the existing level of flood control in the Kissimmee watershed.
Major initiatives in the Kissimmee watershed are the Kissimmee River Restoration Project (KRRP), which includes the Kissimmee River Restoration Evaluation Program (KRREP) and Kissimmee Basin Modeling and Operations Study (KBMOS); Kissimmee River Headwaters Revitalization Project (KRHRP); and Kissimmee Chain of Lakes (KCOL) Long-Term Management Plan (LTMP). A number of activities are associated with these projects including ecosystem restoration, restoration evaluation, aquatic plant management, land management, water quality improvement, and water supply planning.
The Kissimmee River or "long water" was named by the Calusa Indians...The twisting, turning river, flowing slowly to Lake Okeechobee was said by the Seminole people, to be made by a big snake that crawled...to the "big water."
Kissimmee Division ~ 2008
(front row)Carol Wehle, Brent Anderson, SFWMD, Jessica Wilson and Amber Graham, FAU, during Valor Award ceremony at the September 2009 Governing Board meeting.
About Watersheds
Kissimmee
Carol Wehle, Brent Anderson, SFWMD, Jessica Wilson and Amber Graham, FAU, during Valor Award ceremony at the September 2009 Governing Board meeting.