Projects Aim to Improve Peace River

Work is under way on the first of a two projects water managers say will improve nagging problems in the Peace River.

The projects, which will cost a total of $180 million, are designed to improve water quality and keep portions of the river from running dry as often.

Lake Hancock, the fourth-largest lake in Polk County at 4,553 acres, is a wide spot in Saddle Creek, one of two major tributaries at the headwaters of the Peace River.

The lake is also one of the most nutrient-choked lakes in Florida, thanks to decades of discharges from sewer plants, industrial plants and street runoff in its 135-square-mile drainage basin via Saddle Creek, Banana Creek and Lake Lena Run.

Continued...