Post by L Roebuck on Jun 9, 2006 8:07:04 GMT -5
Underground caves at heart of debate over planned Wal-Mart
ALACHUA — The proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter in Alachua has been recommended for approval by the staff of the Suwannee River Water Management District, and the matter will be discussed by the governing board Tuesday, June 13.
The 9 a.m. meeting at the district’s headquarters in Live Oak is shaping up to be a battle over how to deal with an underwater cave system under the property at the corner of U.S. 441 and Interstate 75.
Numerous tests show that the cave system there has relatively fast flowing water that feeds into Hornsby Spring 12 miles away in Camp Kulaqua outside High Springs. In fact, a recent movie by local filmmaker Wes Skiles shows scuba divers swimming in the cave system under where Wal-Mart plans the store’s entrance.
The National Speleological Society (NSS), which owns the Mill Creek Sink Nature Preserve behind Sonny’s Restaurant across U.S. 441 from the proposed Wal-Mart site, is asking the Suwannee River Water Management District to make a key change to Wal-Mart’s proposal.
Wal-Mart is proposing to use “dry ponds” to handle water retention. With such ponds, water is allowed to immediately seep into the ground and flow in whatever direction the land dictates. But this worries the NSS, whose members say that relatively quickly, water will hit underground pockets without having proper filtration and flow into the underground river.
The NSS is asking for wet ponds, which are lined with clays or artificial membranes that hold the water until it overflows. When the water overflows, the water is routed through swales and culverts to another body of water, which then eventually seeps into the ground.
“It is well known that wet retention ponds are much more effective at sequestering pollutants than dry retention ponds,” the National Speleological Society wrote to the Suwannee River Water Management District.
The NSS also is asking the water district to ban Wal-Mart from dropping weights from the sky to crush underground caverns and firm up the ground. Wal-Mart has not said it will use this method, called compaction, but the NSS members said they’d feel more comfortable if the water district banned the process on the property.
The 9 a.m. meeting Tuesday is open to the public, and anyone can stand up and make comments during designated points in the discussion.
Full Article: www.highspringsherald.com/articles/2006/06/08/news/news03.txt
ALACHUA — The proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter in Alachua has been recommended for approval by the staff of the Suwannee River Water Management District, and the matter will be discussed by the governing board Tuesday, June 13.
The 9 a.m. meeting at the district’s headquarters in Live Oak is shaping up to be a battle over how to deal with an underwater cave system under the property at the corner of U.S. 441 and Interstate 75.
Numerous tests show that the cave system there has relatively fast flowing water that feeds into Hornsby Spring 12 miles away in Camp Kulaqua outside High Springs. In fact, a recent movie by local filmmaker Wes Skiles shows scuba divers swimming in the cave system under where Wal-Mart plans the store’s entrance.
The National Speleological Society (NSS), which owns the Mill Creek Sink Nature Preserve behind Sonny’s Restaurant across U.S. 441 from the proposed Wal-Mart site, is asking the Suwannee River Water Management District to make a key change to Wal-Mart’s proposal.
Wal-Mart is proposing to use “dry ponds” to handle water retention. With such ponds, water is allowed to immediately seep into the ground and flow in whatever direction the land dictates. But this worries the NSS, whose members say that relatively quickly, water will hit underground pockets without having proper filtration and flow into the underground river.
The NSS is asking for wet ponds, which are lined with clays or artificial membranes that hold the water until it overflows. When the water overflows, the water is routed through swales and culverts to another body of water, which then eventually seeps into the ground.
“It is well known that wet retention ponds are much more effective at sequestering pollutants than dry retention ponds,” the National Speleological Society wrote to the Suwannee River Water Management District.
The NSS also is asking the water district to ban Wal-Mart from dropping weights from the sky to crush underground caverns and firm up the ground. Wal-Mart has not said it will use this method, called compaction, but the NSS members said they’d feel more comfortable if the water district banned the process on the property.
The 9 a.m. meeting Tuesday is open to the public, and anyone can stand up and make comments during designated points in the discussion.
Full Article: www.highspringsherald.com/articles/2006/06/08/news/news03.txt