Budget conference: Ocklawaha River restoration project gets $15M

Ocklawaha River (St Johns River Water Management District)

A big environmental project to restore the Ocklawaha River’s natural flow is slated to receive $15 million in state funding. 

It’s a project that’s been debated for decades, and the House and Senate have closed the line item for the Ocklawaha in the agriculture budget amid ongoing budget negotiations.

“Recently, local and state leaders have recognized the lack of an up-to-date, comprehensive assessment of the science and economics of maintaining the dam versus breaching it and restoring the Ocklawaha River as a primary impediment to decision-making,” according to a report from April funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts.

Under the Senate budget bill, “Funds in Specific Appropriation 1525B are provided to the Department of Environmental Protection to develop a plan, by July 1, 2026, for the restoration of the Ocklawaha River.”

The Ocklawaha, which flows north, is the primary tributary running into the state’s longest river, the St. Johns.

The river restoration project has put some environmentalists and bass fishermen at odds with each other because if the state dismantles the aging Rodman Dam to restore the river, fishermen would lose a prime fishing spot.

“The dam created the Rodman Reservoir, a popular spot for bass fishing, but it’s also been a source of disdain, blamed for drowning freshwater springs and weakening the Ocklawaha,” the Leesburg Daily Commercial reported this week.

But the Pew-funded economic and scientific report said restoring the river could overall help improve environmental conditions and strengthen the river’s fishing in the Lower St. Johns River Basin.

The report also cited a list of benefits to removing the dam, which included generating millions of dollars in economic development and job creation, helping protect bears and panthers in Ocala and Osceola national forests, adding more recreational opportunities, and lowering the risk of flooding.

“Breaching the dam would benefit public safety by eliminating flood hazards associated with the high-hazard dam and providing non-structural flood protection in the form of a 7,500-acre restored floodplain forest,” the report said.