Latest EAA Public Meeting Results Show SFWMD Can Build a Southern Storage Reservoir that Reduces Harmful Discharges to the Estuaries and Sends Clean Water South
Dec. 22, 2017
West Palm Beach, FL – With the passage of Senate Bill 10, the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) was tasked with developing a southern reservoir project plan that reduces harmful Lake Okeechobee discharges and sends additional water south into the Everglades, all while meeting the state's stringent water quality standards.
During the District's ninth public meeting, its team showed stakeholders and interested parties how alternatives to build the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) Storage Reservoir Project, when used in conjunction with other ongoing restoration efforts, would significantly benefit the coastal estuaries and the entire Everglades.
The alternatives for the study include:
- Alternatives R240A and R240B: These alternatives would each store 240,000 acre-feet of water by utilizing a 10,100-acre reservoir and 6,500-acre stormwater treatment area (STA) on the District-owned A-2 parcel and lands to the west. The main difference between the two alternatives is the location of the STA. These alternatives, when coupled with the completion of other restoration projects such as the remaining components of the Central Everglades Planning Project (CEPP), would reduce the total number of Lake Okeechobee damaging discharge events to the coastal estuaries by 56 percent. These alternatives are estimated to cost approximately $1.4 billion to build.
- Alternatives R360C and R360D: These alternatives would each store 360,000 acre-feet of water by utilizing a 19,700-acre reservoir and 11,500-acre STA on the A-2 parcel and lands to the west, as well as the adjacent A-1 parcel. The main difference between the two alternatives is the location of the STA. These alternatives, when coupled with the completion of other restoration projects such as the remaining components of CEPP, would reduce the total number of Lake Okeechobee damaging discharge events to the coastal estuaries by 61 percent. These alternatives are estimated to cost approximately $1.9 billion to build.
- Alternative C360C: This alternative would have the same configuration as Alternative R360C, as well as being able to serve multiple purposes, such as supply water for environmental restoration and other uses as identified in the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP). This alternative, when coupled with the completion of other restoration projects such as the remaining components of CEPP, would reduce the total number of Lake Okeechobee damaging discharge events to the coastal estuaries by 61 percent. This alternative is estimated to cost approximately $1.9 billion to build.