W3 Seminar: SEEP: A case study of self-organization

In 1995, creation of the Natural Area Teaching Laboratory, a final exam question in Jack Putz’s Ecosystems of Florida class, formation of the UF Wetlands Club and a cadre of students indoctrinated in systems thinking and the concepts of maximum power and self-organization all conspired to initiate the Stormwater Ecological Enhancement Project (SEEP). Originally designed as a conventional stormwater retention basin in 1989, a redesign of the basin to increase biodiversity, improve water quality, enhance aesthetics, and facilitate research and education opportunities was implemented in 1998 and 1999. The new design was not meant to start from scratch, but instead modify the hydrologic drivers of the system and introduce more genetic information to take advantage of created habitat and then let the system self-organize. Although monitoring data is limited, periodic assessments and research projects provide snapshots of the systems development. Species richness has nearly quadrupled, water quality has been improved and deposition of heavy metals associated with stormwater runoff is now constrained to specific areas within the basin. The addition of a boardwalk and interpretive signs in 2008 has significantly increased public use and awareness of the area. More broadly, the idea that a stormwater basin can be enhanced to serve more than just the function of runoff attenuation and water quality improvement, has motivated local governments and developers to integrate some concepts of SEEP into their local ordinances and development designs. This seminar with discuss the underlying concepts of the enhanced design and illustrate changes that occurred in the basin over the past three decades.