Three major Everglades restoration projects have received federal approval, including a 62 billion-gallon reservoir in western Palm Beach.
The gargantuan reservoir would store excess water from Lake Okeechobee and mitigate flooding risks. The facility will be built on a 16,700-acre parcel south of the lake, west of U.S. 27.
The Everglades is vital to insure a fresh water supply for South Florida. The region's natural source of water, the Biscayne Aquifer, has reached its capacity. Miami-Dade, Broward and parts of Palm Beach counties can no longer increase pumping of water without endangering Everglades restoration and risking saltwater intrusion into the area's wells.
Work is set to begin next month on the reservoir under a $400 million contract granted to Bozeman, Mont.-based Barnard Construction Co and Pasadena, Calif.-based Parsons Water & Infrastructure.
On July 18, the U.S. Senate passed the Water Resources Development Act. A House version passed last year and a conference committee is clearing up any discrepancies.
The bill greenlights the Indian River Lagoon South Restoration Project and the Picayune Strand Restoration Project, key projects within the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP).
Still pending is about $1.54 billion in appropriations for those two projects, which would be split between the South Florida Water Management District and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The $1.2 billion Indian River Lagoon South Restoration Project includes the removal of 7.9 million cubic yards of muck from the lagoon and the St. Lucie Estuary, and the creation of reservoirs to store water. The St. Lucie River flows from Lake Okeechobee to the east coast.
The $342 million Picayune Strand Restoration Project would return a natural flow of water across 85 square miles of swamp land drained in Collier County in the 1960s for a residential development project that failed. About 227 miles of road will be removed.
For projects like these, the state has invested $1.3 billion into the CERP and has made $3.2 billion in commitments through 2010.
