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Restoration The age of expansion in the late nineteenth century turned much of the wetlands of Florida to wastelands. Drainage efforts began to meet the demands of agriculture. Land was sold cheaply, drained, and reclaimed. Canals and levees were dug to create artificial waterways to divert water flows. Unknowingly, these early settlers were degrading the soil and tampering with a natural water flow design that involved more than 4 million acres and an entire ecosystem. The Central and Southern Florida Project (C&SF), the first drainage effort, began in 1948 and was completed by 1970. The project created 1,000 miles of canals, 720 miles of levees, and several hundred water control structures. For close to 50 years, the C&SF Project has performed its authorized functions well. However, the project has had unintended adverse effects on the unique and diverse environment that constitutes South Florida, including the Everglades and Florida Bay as it wasted clean fresh water or pumped polluted water through estuaries to the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. Successful restoration of the Everglades-Florida Bay ecosystem requires balancing the needs of the natural systems, the human population, and the native birds, fish and wildlife. To achieve successful restoration, water quantity, quality, timing, and distribution of water flowing to and through the Everglades ecosystem and into the waters of Florida Bay must closely approximate the pattern of water flow and conditions that were present prior to the adulteration of the Everglades. Restoration will lead to full or partial recovery of the 68 federally listed endangered and threatened species, and the 29 candidate species for endangered or threatened status, that exist in the Everglades. It will result in reestablishment of secure populations of wading birds, whose numbers have declined by an estimated 90 percent due to agricultural and development activities in the Everglades. Restoration of the Everglades-Florida Bay ecosystem will protect and render sustainable a natural resource- based economy in South Florida and the Florida Keys, supporting more than $20 billion in annual economic activity and creating more than 365,000 jobs in Monroe, Broward and Miami-Dade Counties jobs. It also will provide clean, safe drinking water for more than six million citizens.
Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan The solution is the $8.4 billion-plus Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP). CERP provides a framework and guide to restore, protect, and preserve the water resources of central and southern Florida, including the Everglades. It covers 16 counties over an 18,000-square-mile area and centers on an update of the C&SF Project. Unfortunately, as of 2004, none of the components have been completed as a result of legislative delays directed by the sugar industry. Outcomes of the plan include:
AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY PROJECTS Continue demand for inclusion of contingency surface water storage plan rather than underground storage where no animal and bird habitat and recreation are available. Read more about the Everglades Restoration plan |
