To ensure the long-term health of Lake Munson, Leon County conducted a drawdown of the Lake in coordination with the State of Florida from Tuesday, November 1, 2022, to Friday, May 17, 2024. The drawdown is part of the County's ongoing and long-term Action Plan to protect and preserve Lake Munson both now and into the future.
The Lake Munson Action Plan, adopted in October 2022 by the Leon County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC), includes the Lake Munson drawdown. Over the winter months in 2023, Leon County received more rainfall than anticipated and, at the March 21, 2023, BOCC meeting, the drawdown was extended until Spring 2024. The drawdown concluded on May 17, 2024, marking the start of the lake refilling process. The process consists of incrementally closing all gates on the dam to gradually raise water levels over a period of approximately two months.
As always, Leon County will continue to closely monitor Lake Munson to ensure the water body's health and quality.
How Drawdowns Help Water Quality
At Lake Munson, Leon County is currently utilizing a lake management technique, called a drawdown, to help improve and maintain water quality, manage algae and invasive exotic plants in the water, and allow the nutrient-rich sediment to compact.
The drawdown will benefit the ecological system and improve the water quality in several ways:
- Algal Blooms and Invasive Exotic Plant Management: The drawdown can help mitigate recent algal blooms and the rapid growth of an invasive exotic aquatic plant (hydrilla) in Lake Munson. Lowering the water level can disrupt the life cycles of these organisms, reducing their populations. This disruption also allows better management of the vegetation when the Lake refills.
- Sediment Management: Drawdowns allow the nutrient-rich sediments to de-water, compact, oxidize, and form a hardened crust over the lake bottom. This hardened crust serves to “cap” the underlying sediment which provides a habitat for fish spawning and reduces nutrient recycling into the water once the Lake is re-flooded. The Action Plan includes quarterly aerial topographic surveys of the Lake bottom. These surveys will measure the elevations of compacted sediment, providing valuable data on the progress and effectiveness of the drawdown.
- Water Quality Improvements: The compaction and capping of the sediment will reduce the nutrients leaving the sediment and entering the water; thereby improving the water quality. The Action Plan includes enhanced water quality monitoring to closely study the changes in the Lake's water quality during and after the drawdown, contributing to an overall understanding of the Lake's health.
Why Not Dredge
Dredging can harm Lake Munson by disturbing and resuspending the sediment and contaminants, damaging habitats, removing natural seed sources giving way for invasive exotic vegetation, and potentially creating a sinkhole by opening an underlying karst feature.
Safety Information
- As the Lake is slowly refilled, boaters should use caution as some areas may have shallow water.
- All fishing, hunting and boating regulations are still in effect and are administered and enforced by the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).
For more information on the Lake Munson Drawdown, contact Anna Padilla, Stormwater Management Coordinator, at 850-606-1500 or PadillaA@LeonCountyFL.gov.
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