Polk County officials have been talking about doing something to improve water quality flowing down the Peace Creek Drainage Canal since at least 1991.
Tuesday they finally took action by voting to buy a1,272-acre ranch in the upper reaches of this World War I-era ditch system.
The purchase price was $20.055,000, financed primarily by money from President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan and a grant from the Florida Department of Enviornmental Protection. Polk also used money from the county’s stormwater tax.
The land lies on both sides of U.S. 27 north of Cypress Gardens Boulevard and Waverly Road.
Under the sales agreement the Buck Mann Ranch will remain a private cattle lease operation for the next decade while county officials and their consultants work to redesign the site’s drainage system to treat the water that flows into the site before it reaches the Peace River. No public access is planned while the work proceeds.
However, there are plans for public recreational development after the cattle lease expires.
Meanwhile, the sales agreement also ends the practice of using the site to dispose of sewer sludge.
