Progress Toward Restoring the Everglades The Fifth Biennial Review: 2014 (2014) / Chapter Skim
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2 The Restoration Plan in Context
2 The Restoration Plan in Context
Pages 21-34
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From page 21... ...
These early projects included dredging canals in the Kissimmee River Basin and constructing a hannel c connecting Lake Okeechobee to the Caloosahatchee River and, ultimately, the Gulf of Mexico. By the late 1800s, more than 50,000 acres north and west of the lake had been drained and cleared for agriculture (Grunwald, 2006)
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From page 22... ...
This project provided flood control and urban and agricultural water supply by straightening 103 miles of the meandering K issimmee River, expanding the Herbert Hoover Dike, constructing a levee along the eastern boundary of the Everglades to prevent flows into the southeastern urban areas, establishing the 700,000-acre Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) south of Lake Okeechobee, and creating a series of Water Conservation Areas (WCAs)
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From page 23... ...
, the South Florida ecosystem had already been altered extensively. Beginning in the 1970s, prompted by concerns about deteriorating conditions in Everglades National Park and other parts of the South Florida ecosystem, the public, as well as the federal and state governments, directed increased attention to the adverse ecological effects of the flood control and irrigation projects (Kiker et al., 2001; Perry, 2004)
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From page 24... ...
, is "restoration, preservation, and protection of the South Florida Ecosystem while providing for other water-related needs of the region, including water supply and flood protection." The Programmatic Regulations (33 CFR § 385.3) that guide implementation of the CERP further clarify this goal by defining restoration as "the recovery and protection of the South Florida eco system so that it once again achieves and sustains the essential hydrological and biological characteristics that defined the undisturbed South Florida ecosystem." These defining characteristics include a large areal extent of interconnected wetlands, extremely low concentrations of nutrients in freshwater wetlands, sheet flow, healthy and productive estuaries, resilient plant communities, and an abundance of native wetland animals (DOI and USACE, 2005)
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From page 25... ...
However, flood control remains a critical aspect of the CERP design, and artificial storage will be required to replace the lost natural storage in the system (NRC, 2005)
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From page 26... ...
Methods for securing water quality conditions compatible with restora tion goals for a natural system that was inherently extremely nutrient poor, particularly with respect to phosphorus; and 5. Retention, improvement, and expansion of the full range of habitats by preventing further losses of critical wetland and estuarine habitats and by pro tecting lands that could usefully be part of the restored ecosystem.
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From page 27... ...
. The Yellow Book proposes to provide substantial water storage through ASR, a highly engineered approach that would use a large number of wells built around Lake Okeechobee, in Palm Beach County, and in the Caloosahatchee Basin to store water approximately 1,000 feet belowground; the feasibility of this approach is currently being examined through pilot tests.
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From page 28... ...
28 Progress Toward Restoring the Everglades FIGURE 2-2 Major project components of the CERP. SOURCE: Courtesy of Laura Mahoney, USACE.
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From page 29... ...
. This determination must be based on some finding other than the project is a part of CERP and generally will aid the restoration effort." The memo goes on to state, "the Yellow Book specifically envisioned that the State would be responsible for meeting water quality standards." Therefore, it appears that until the water flowing into the project features meets existing water quality requirements or unless a special exemption is granted for projects deemed "essential to Everglades restoration," the state is responsible for 100 percent of the costs of CERP water quality project features.
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From page 30... ...
. WRDA 2000 endorses the use of an adaptive management framework for the restoration process, and the Programmatic Regulations formally establish an adaptive management program that will "assess responses of the South Florida ecosystem to implementation of the Plan; .
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From page 31... ...
In 2012, the State of Florida launched its Restoration Strategies Regional Water Quality Plan, which was approved by EPA and the Court as an alternative means to address the Amended Determination. The State of Florida is currently in the process of constructing approximately 6,500 acres of new STAs and 116,000 acres of flow equalization basins (see Chapter 4)
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From page 32... ...
Project This project is designed to improve hydrologic conditions in Taylor Slough and the Rocky Glades of the eastern panhandle of Everglades National Park and to increase freshwater flows to northeast Florida Bay, while maintaining flood protection for urban and agricultural development in south Miami-Dade County. The project plan includes a tieback levee with pumps to capture groundwater seepage to the east, detention areas to increase groundwater levels and thereby enhance flow into Everglades National Park, and backfilling or plugging several canals in the area.
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From page 33... ...
Northern Everglades and Estuaries Protection Program In 2007, the Florida legislature expanded the Lake Okeechobee Protection Act (LOPA) to include protection and restoration of the Lake Okeechobee watershed and the Caloosahatchee and St.
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From page 34... ...
Examples of the Critical Projects include the Florida Keys Carrying Capacity Study, Lake Okeechobee Water Retention and Phosphorus Removal, Seminole Big Cypress Reservation Water Conservation Plan, Tamiami Trail Culverts, Ten Mile Creek Water Preserve Area, and the Lake Trafford Restoration (DOI and USACE, 2011)
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