NICEVILLE ? The Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance of Okaloosa Walton College will break ground. Oct.12 at 1 p.m., on a major project to improve water quality at south Walton County?s Hogtown Bayou, and subsequently Choctawhatchee Bay. The Cessna Park Stormwater Remediation Project is the result of a partnership of CBA with the Northwest Florida Water Management District and The South Walton Tourist Development Council. The $250,000 cost of the project is being funded by the Northwest Florida Water Management District. Cessna Park, located on the Bayou at the north end of County Road 393, is a popular public recreation site, used for swimming, boating and fishing. Walton County?s Stormwater Master Plan cited the low-lying park?s inability to handle stormwater runoff, creating water quality problems for the public and for the critical habitat of the Gulf Sturgeon, located in this area. The multi-tiered project will remove an outdated septic tank and replace it with a new grinder pump lift station donated by Regional Utilities. Improvements will be made to traffic flow and grading to redirect drainage to the treatment area. New playground equipment and parking will be included. Upon completion of construction, CBA staff and community volunteers will replant the shoreline with native vegetation. This will reduce erosion along the north shore of the park and will aid in water fi ltration and enhancement of wildlife habitat. The latter will be funded by a grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Special guests attending Thursday?s event include Sen. Charles Clary (R-Destin), Walton County Commissioner Cindy Meadows, the representatives of the Northwest Florida Water Management District, Brad Pickel of the South Walton Tourist Development Council, and Ash Morgan of the University of West Florida?s Haas Center for Business Research and Economic Development. The Haas Center recently completed an analysis of the economic impact of the Choctawhatchee Bay on Okaloosa and Walton Counties. The report details recent economic trends in the two-county area, estimating that the Bay currently contributes 36,030 jobs to the region, $2.4 billion in gross regional product to the region, and $2.3 billion in personal income to the region. The economic activity from the increasing tourism industry drives growth but also creates environmental concerns such as stormwater runoff polluting the Bay and loss of vegetation due to shoreline development. The Cessna Park project is one of several initiatives managed by CBA in cooperation with local, regional and national agencies, to fulfill its mission of ?sustaining and providing optimum utilization of the Choctawhatchee Basin Watershed.? CBA was created in 1996 under the auspices of Okaloosa-Walton College to provide opportunities for citizens, educators and technical experts to promote the health of the Choctawhatchee Basin watershed through reduction of pollution, water quality monitoring, restoration and enhancement of marsh grass and wetland areas, and promotion of environmentally sound development. CBA serves as is an important source of environmental information for the public. This article was contributed by Joy Brown, project manager, Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance.
