estuarine bay bottoms into State 

 ownership. In 1974 the developer 

 satisfied new requirements of Federal 

 law and received water quality certi- 

 fication for the remaining unpermit- 

 ted canals on Marco Island. In 1976, 

 the Corps relied on 1975 regulations 

 to grant permits for 16 percent 

 (1,120 platted acres), and to deny 

 permits for the remaining 31 percent 

 (2,170 platted acres) of the Marco 

 Island plan (Figure 2). 



OVERVIEW OF REVISED 

 DEVELOPMENT PLANS 



Shortly after the 1976 Corps 

 decision, the developer purchased 

 three sections of lands immediately 

 north of his original ownership. 

 Vegetation mapping and ecosystem 

 analysis of the entire unpermitted 

 ownership began (Figure 3). At the 

 same time urban planners started work 

 on a development plan that aimed to 

 achieve many objectives. 



A. The maintenance of the 

 estuarine ecosystem required preser- 

 vation of essentially all estuarine 

 bays and surrounding mangrove areas. 

 Freshwater inputs to the estuary had 

 to be maintained or enhanced. 



B. Attractive substitute wa- 

 terfront lots had to be provided 

 for customers denied their lots by 

 the Corps in 1976. 



C. The project had to mitigate 

 the financial losses resulting from 

 the 1976 denials. Therefore, addi- 

 tional residential units beyond those 

 specifically denied had to be includ- 

 ed in the plan. 



D. The new project had to be 

 linked to the existing Marco communi- 

 ty for marketing purposes and for 



efficiency in providing community 

 ammenities such as transportaion, 

 potable water, sewer, emergency ser- 

 vices, commercial and business areas, 

 education facilities, recreation, 

 health care. 



The resulting revised plan of de- 

 velopment for Deltona's 17,000 acre 

 Marco ownership is restricted to 

 4,000 acres comprised of 1,500 acres 

 of uplands and 2,500 acres of interi- 

 or wetlands. The remaining 13,000 

 acres of wetland ownership will be 

 preserved (Figure 4) . 



RESTORATION OF FRESHWATER 



INFLOW TO THE 



ESTUARY 



Inland from the Marco estuary 

 the topography is flat with eleva- 

 tions rising at approximately one 

 foot per mile. Before railroads, 

 highways, agriculture, and large 

 scale inland land development, the 

 water table was near the ground sur- 

 face and extensive areas were flooded 

 for portions of the year. Freshwater 

 flows to the estuary were the gradual 

 and steady result of surface sheet 

 flow and ground water movement fed by 

 a large interior basin (Figure 5). 



Aerial photos, on-site inspec- 

 tion, and government publications 

 (McCoy 1972; Carter et al. 1973; 

 Swayze and McPherson 1977) show 

 that surface flows from interior 

 areas northeast or "upstream" of the 

 proposed development site have been 

 altered by land development drainage, 

 agricultural irrigation and drainage, 

 and road and barrow ditch construc- 

 tion. These factors have lowered 

 the water table and short-circuited 

 surface flows directly to the 

 estuary . 



204 



