Did you know the South Florida Water Management District, along with our local, state and federal partners, works on the largest and most complex water quality and ecosystem restoration projects in the world?
On this World Water Day, we celebrate the continued momentum to improve water quality in South Florida while ensuring an adequate water supply now and into the future.
With historic support from Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Legislature, 44 Everglades restoration and water quality projects have broken ground, reached a major milestone or completed construction since 2019.
Some major milestones include:
- Expediting the EAA Reservoir Project! Blasting and excavation of the Stormwater Treatment Area, and the STA levee construction is in progress.
- Completing construction on the C-44 Reservoir and Stormwater Treatment Area, which is already filling with water.
- Breaking ground on the C-23/C-24 Stormwater Treatment Area. When complete, this project will reduce sediment, phosphorus, and nitrogen going to the St. Lucie Estuary and the southern portion of the Indian River Lagoon.
- Completing the removal of the Old Tamiami Trail roadbed that acted as a dam and prevented the natural sheet flow south into Everglades National Park.
- Continuing progress on the Lake Okeechobee Watershed Restoration Project, including the initial water quality treatment technologies for the aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) wells and progress to advance wetlands restoration components.
- Advancing the Caloosahatchee (C-43) Reservoir. This project will store large amounts of water and reduce the volume of harmful Lake Okeechobee discharges to the Caloosahatchee Estuary during the wet season, while providing beneficial freshwater flows to the estuary in the dry season.
- Completing the Kissimmee River Restoration Project, a monumental achievement thanks to decades of hard work by SFWMD staff and partners. This project restores more than 40 square miles of the river floodplain ecosystem, 20,000 acres of wetlands, and 44 miles of the historic river channel.
Protecting South Florida’s water resources and ecosystems is part of everything the SFWMD does. We’re proud to celebrate these major accomplishments, and we will continue to advance and accelerate key projects that safeguard our water resources for the benefit of people and the environment of South Florida.