The objective of Phase 1 is to develop and understanding of the lake ecosystem, the hydrology of the lake and its watershed, and identify sources of contamination.  The environmental assessment includes evaluation of the aquatic vegetation, wildlike, fish populations, and phytoplankton activity of the lake as well as identification of nutrient sources and pathways from the watershed to the lake.  The assessment is designed to document the current lake conditions, the activities that should be taken to restore the lake, and determine the nutrient loading limitations for idntified inflows that will protect the lake ecosystem.  The first step to development of theat plan is a rigoroud data collection and data assessment of the hydrology, nutrients sources, and nutrient loading to the lake.

    The objectives of the hydrologic analysis are to develop a water budget for the lake, determine the current and historical patterns of inflow and outflow, and determine the nutrient loading to the lake.  Theis analysis will be developed as an extension of the hydraulic and hydrologic analysis of south Lee County being conducted by South Florida Water Management District.  This hydrologic analysis will be a cooperative project with U.S. Geological Survey and the University of Florida.  This project will obtain necessary information from the south Lee County project and from the hydroaulic and hydrologic analysis of the Big Cypress Basin of South Florida Water Management District.  The hydrologic analysis will include refining and completing the inventory of surface and ground water flow and nutrient loading into the lake.

    The hydrologic inventory will require installation of ground water monitoring wells, surfae water monitoring stations, and rain gauge stations to track ground and surface water inflows and nutrient loading; and quantification of substrate and re-suspension loading.  The preliminary recommendation is for installation of 48 piezometers, 24 monitoring wells, 12 surface water monitoring location, and recording rain gauge.  Surface water samples will be colllected periodically at inflow and outflow locations.  Additional samples will be collected at selected surface water sites within the watershed.  The nutrient content of the lake water, lake sediments, ground water, and atmospheric deposition will be included in the analysis.  In conjunction with the hydrologic analysis, a nutrient budget will be developed for the lake.

    This information will be used along with ecological data to determine an appropriate nutrient budget to protect the lake. The analysis of the lake ecosystem will include the following: (1) identification and delineation of littoral aquatic exotic and noxious plant to be removed and replaced with native vegetation; (2) documentation of bird and other animal habitats: and (3) biostratigraphic analysis and age dating of undisturbed organic sediment cores in the lake.  The results of the analysis will be submitted for peer-review Strand.  This is based, in part, on the results of the South Lee County Engineering study ( Johnson Engineering. et al., April 1997).  Currently, a substantial fraction of the lake inflow from the north has been redirected to flow west into Corkscrew Swamp at a location northwest of the lake.  Urban development around Immokalee restricts inflow from the Okaloacoochee Slough.  More importantly, agricultural development south of the lake appears to have substantially reduced discharge to the south.  Several factors including road construction with too few culverts, agriculture dikes, and flow restriction due to growth of shrubs (willows and Brazilian pepper) have increased the resistance to flow.  This has reduced ddischarge moving south through Camp Keais Strand and apparently caused runoff from land south of Lake Trafford to flow into the lake, including from Immokalee Water and Sewer District wastewater treatment plant spray fields.  A detailed watershed assessment is necessary to confirm the hydrology.