At a news conference in South Florida on Monday, Gov. Ron DeSantis and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced a milestone for the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) Reservoir Project.
The project, which is a key component of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP), is scheduled for completion in 2029.
“This is the largest environmental restoration in the history of the United States of America,” DeSantis said.
A major element of the project, the EAA Reservoir Inflow Pump Station, broke ground in November and is now completed.
“It’s one of the most significant developments in the history of the Everglades and really, in the history of the American natural environment,” said Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Adam Telle.
The pump station will have the capability to move approximately 3 billion gallons of water per day from Lake Okeechobee into the EAA Reservoir.
According to the South Florida Water Management District, Florida’s water system was altered for decades to prevent flooding, but at the cost of cutting off the natural flow of water to the Everglades.
The EAA Reservoir Project is designed to correct that—redirecting water south, restoring ecosystems, and significantly reducing harmful discharges to the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie estuaries.
Once complete, the EAA Reservoir will provide lasting benefits for Florida’s coastal communities and unique natural environment, the district said.
The EAA Reservoir Project is a joint Everglades restoration effort between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the South Florida Water Management District. The project includes two major features: a treatment wetland that cleans water and a reservoir that will store excess water from Lake Okeechobee.
The project includes a combination of canals, stormwater treatment areas (STAs), and a reservoir to reduce harmful discharges to the northern estuaries, send more water south, and improve water quality in America’s Everglades.