Progress Toward Restoring the Everglades The Ninth Biennial Review - 2022 (2023) / Chapter Skim
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From page 29... ...
The first Committee on Independent Scientific Review of Everglades Restoration Progress (CISRERP) identified five critical components of Everglades restoration (NRC, 2007)
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From page 30... ...
Considered a blueprint for the restoration C of the South Florida ecosystem, the CERP is led by two organizations with con siderable expertise managing the water resources of South Florida -- the USACE, which built most of the canals and levees throughout the region, and the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) , the state agency with primary responsibility for operating and maintaining this complicated water collection and distribution system.
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From page 31... ...
The Restoration Plan in Context 31 FIGURE 2-2 Major project components of the CERP as outlined in 1999. NOTES: ASR = aquifer storage and recovery, STAs = stormwater treatment areas.
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• Rainfall-driven water management. The Yellow Book includes operational changes in the water delivery schedules to the WCAs and Everglades 2 Although some STAs are included among CERP projects, the USACE has clarified its policy on federal cost sharing for water quality features.
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From page 33... ...
To address shortfalls in water supply, the Yellow Book proposes two advanced wastewater treatment plants so that the reclaimed water could be discharged to wetlands along Biscayne Bay or used to recharge the Biscayne aquifer. The largest portion of the budget is devoted to storage projects and to acquiring the lands needed for them.
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From page 34... ...
In fact, the CERP's effectiveness was predicated upon the completion of many of these projects, which include Modified Water Deliveries to Everglades National Park, C-111 South Dade, and state water quality treatment projects developed under the Everglades Construction Project (see Figure 2-3)
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From page 35... ...
In 2007, the Florida legislature mandated that ocean wastewater discharges in South Florida be eliminated and 60 percent of those discharges be reused by 2025 (Fla.
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. In 2012, the State of Florida launched its Restoration Strategies Regional Water Quality Plan, which was approved by the EPA and the Court as an alternative means to address the Amended Determination.
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Some species, especially of introduced vascular plants and reptiles, have had dramatic effects on the structure and functioning of Everglades ecosystems, and therefore necessitate aggressive management and early detection of new high-risk invaders to ensure that ongoing CERP efforts to get the water right allow native species to prosper instead of simply enhancing conditions for invasive species. SUMMARY The Everglades ecosystem is one of the world's ecological treasures, but for more than a century the installation of an extensive water management infrastructure has changed the geography of South Florida and has facilitated extensive agricultural and urban development.
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Project Authorization Once project planning is complete, CERP projects with costs exceeding $25 million must be individually authorized by Congress before they can receive federal appropriations. Water Resources Development Acts (WRDAs)
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From page 40... ...
, which authorized the Loxahatchee Watershed Restoration Project and combined the EAA Storage Reservoir and the CEPP into a single project. Authorized CERP projects are sometimes classified by the WRDA bills in which they were authorized -- Generation 1 (WRDA 2007)
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From page 41... ...
. The $1.1 billion of CERP funding provided by the IIJA is to • initiate and fully fund construction of the Broward County WPA C-11 Impoundment feature, which must be sequenced before certain CEPP features;1 • initiate and fully fund construction of the IRL-South C-23/24 North Reservoir feature; • initiate and fully fund construction of the CEPP South S-356 Pump Station feature; and 1 This section was altered after prepublication release of the report to clarify the CEPP sequencing requirements.
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From page 42... ...
Other major federal CERP construction activities for FY 2022 and FY 2023 include completing the IRL-South C-44 Reservoir operational test ing and monitoring; continuing construction of the BBCW L-31 East Flow-way features; constructing the CEPP features, including the EAA Reservoir and the CEPP South S-355W Gated Spillway; and constructing the Picayune Strand south west protection features (SFERTF, 2022)
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5) authority 2013, operations WRDA 2000 ongoing GENERATION 2 CERP PROJECTS C-111 Spreader Canal (Western)
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12) NA Submitted to Authorized in Ongoing - EAA Reservoir and Pump Station 2029 Congress, 2018 WRDA 2018, - EAA A-2 STA 2023 2020 GENERATION 4 CERP PROJECTS Loxahatchee River Watershed (Fig.
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From page 45... ...
EAA = Everglades Agricultural Areas, IDS = Integrated Delivery Schedule, NA = not applicable., STA = stormwater treatment area, WCA = Water Conservation Area, WPA = Water Preserve Area, WRDA = Water Resources Development Act, WRRDA = Water Resources Reform and Development Act The table was modified after release of the prepublication version of the report to include all relevant recent contract award dates. SOURCES: Data from NASEM, 2021; Parrott, 2022a; SFERTF, 2021; USACE, 2021a; Vélez, 2022a.
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46 Progress Toward Restoring the Everglades FIGURE 3-3 Locations and status of CERP projects and pilot projects. NOTES: EAA = Everglades Agricultural Area, STA = stormwater treatment area.
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Both amounts would eclipse the previous records for state funding of $645 million for CERP efforts set in FY 2007 and $1.2 billion for non-CERP efforts in FY 2010. State CERP funding is focused on several CERP projects including the C-43 West Basin Storage Reservoir, BBCW, the CEPP EAA Reservoir and associated projects, IRL-South, the Lake Okeechobee Watershed Restoration Project (LOWRP)
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From page 48... ...
The implementation status of CERP projects is shown in Table 3-1, with pending unplanned projects in Table 3-2. The discus sions of progress that follow are organized based on geography and describe CERP projects, CERP projects in planning, and systemwide operational plans for • northern estuaries and Lake Okeechobee, • central and western Everglades, and • southern estuaries.
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$11,000,000 On hold Comprehensive Integrated Water Quality Plan (CIWQP) $8,000,000 On hold Florida Bay Florida Keys Feasibility Study (FBFKFS)
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Northern Estuaries and Lake Okeechobee Substantial work is under way in the northern Everglades and Lake Okeechobee to effect restoration progress. This work includes two CERP projects in progress, one CERP project in planning, and development of a new regulation schedule for Lake Okeechobee.
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From page 51... ...
The Indian River Lagoon and the St. Lucie Estuary are biologically diverse estuaries located on the east side of the Florida Peninsula, where ecosystems have been impacted by factors similar to those that have impacted the Caloosahatchee River Estuary -- surges of freshwater from Lake Okeechobee and canals in the watershed and polluted runoff from farmlands and urban areas (USACE, 2021b)
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From page 52... ...
wells, and several structures related to connectivity in the southern part of the watershed. Together the project components are expected to deliver 98 per cent of the wet season restoration flow target and 91 percent of the dry season restoration flow target in the Northwest Fork of the Loxahatchee River (USACE and SFWMD, 2020a)
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From page 53... ...
with the following key components: • A shallow above-ground, naturally vegetated water storage reservoir (termed wetland attenuation feature) with a storage volume of approxi mately 46,000 AF; • 80 ASR wells with a total storage volume of approximately 448,000 AF per year; and • Two wetland restoration sites, encompassing 4,800 acres.
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From page 54... ...
Compared to the FWO scenario, Alt-ASR is forecast to reduce high flow and extreme high flow frequencies within the Caloosahatchee Estuary by 11 and 7 percent, respectively.2 Similar reductions in high-flow frequency are anticipated for the St. Lucie Estuary.3 By lowering the frequency, 2 High flow and extreme high flow criteria for the Caloosahatchee Estuary are defined as a mean monthly discharge of 2,800 to 4,500 cubic feet per second (cfs)
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From page 55... ...
The uncertainties raised in the 2015 NRC report have not been addressed, although the Alt-ASR plan is responsive to the NRC recommendations for phased construction of some ASR wells with coordinated studies and monitoring. These studies are outlined in a companion document, the 2021 ASR Science Plan (SFWMD and USACE, 2021)
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From page 56... ...
. The ASR Science Plan provides a comprehensive accounting of the numerous uncertainties identified in the 2015 NRC report and summarizes 26 studies involving geochemical measurements, hydrogeophysical characterization, laboratory experiments, and field testing on reactivated ASR wells and clusters of new ASR wells to be located along the northern perimeter of Lake Okeechobee.
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From page 57... ...
with regard to safety, and a major rehabilitation project has been under way since 2007 to improve its condition and to reduce seepage, piping, and the risk of dam failure at high water levels, which would cause massive damage and loss of life. The Herbert Hoover Dike Rehabilitation Project included 28 culvert replacements and the construction of 56 miles of cutoff walls (seepage barriers within the dike)
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From page 58... ...
; and 4. "Enhance ecology in Lake Okeechobee, Northern Estuaries, and across the South Florida ecosystem." The USACE conducted a comprehensive evaluation of alternatives to develop LOSOM, in which thousands of alternative release scenarios were simulated, scored, and screened.
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From page 59... ...
NOTES: AB = algal bloom, CRE = Caloosahatchee River Estuary, ENV = environment, LECSA = Lower East Coast Service Area, LOSA = Lake Okeechobee Service Area, SLE = St. Lucie Estuary, STOF = Seminole Tribe of Florida.
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From page 60... ...
If lake level exceeds the red line bordering Zone A, water must be released to the northern estuaries at maximum discharge capacity. In Zone B/C, discharge levels are high but below maximum (≤7,200 cfs to the Caloosahatchee River Estuary and ≤3,500 cfs to the St.
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. Under the LOSOM draft preferred alternative regulation schedule (Figure 3-7)
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. The near-term restoration benefits of several ongoing CERP and non-CERP projects rely on the water deliveries provided under LOSOM.
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The Western Everglades Restoration Project is currently in planning. CERP Projects in Progress or Completed Picayune Strand Restoration Project.
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This levee is intended to reduce flood risk to the agricultural lands to the west of the project and is not anticipated to be completed until 2025. Because of the staged plugging of drainage canals, the degree of hydrologic restoration varies both spatially and temporally.
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From page 65... ...
in Picayune Strand was expanded southward after the filling of the Eastern Stair-step Canal, and the partially restored area (green shading) was expanded after 3 miles of canal plugging at the north end of the Faka Union Canal from 2019 to 2021.
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From page 66... ...
Other Project Phase Status Tamiami Trail State NA NA 17 culverts constructed Completed in 2007 Culverts Prairie Canal Phase State 64 30 7 Hydrologic restoration of Plugging and road removal (expedited) 11,000 acres in Picayune completed in 2007; logging Strand and 9,000 acres trams removed in 2012 in Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve Park Merritt Canal Federal 65 16 8.5 Merritt pump station, Completed in 2015; pump Phase spreader basin, and tie- station transferred to the back levee constructed SFWMD in 2016 Faka Union Canal Federal 81 11 7.6 Faka Union pump Roads removed in 2013; pump Phase station, spreader basin, station completed in 2017; and tie-back levee upper 3 miles canal plugging constructed completed in 2021.
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From page 67... ...
This report focuses on recent information obtained during the past 2 years on hydrologic and vegetation outcomes. Following the 2015 plugging of the Merritt Canal, hydroperiods are longer and water levels have generally shifted higher (Bonness et al., 2022)
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From page 68... ...
, located in a wet prairie habitat that was partially restored in 2006 and fully restored in 2015; SGT2W4 (or 2-4) , located in a habitat of hydric flatwoods in an area that was partially restored in 2015; and SGT2W3 (or 2-3)
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From page 69... ...
. Shorterlived, faster-growing species, such as those in the understory layer, are expected to respond faster to hydrologic restoration than longer-lived, slower-growing species, such as cypress and pines that form the canopy.
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From page 70... ...
. WAI on reference transects was stable or decreasing between 2005 and 2020 (cypress change = -0.029, p = 0.42; pineland change = -0.046, p = 0.14; wet prairie change = -0.006, p = 0.84)
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From page 71... ...
The canal system was constructed in the 1960s, expanding upon a remnant canal built to transport solid fuel moon rockets from the AeroJet General Corporation. Originally designed to provide flood protection in Dade County, the C-111 Canal spurred agricultural development on lands to the east while draining water from the Southern Glades and Taylor Slough in Everglades National Park.
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From page 72... ...
. The C-111 SCW Project creates a 6-mile hydraulic ridge along the eastern boundary of Everglades National Park to reduce seepage from the park and improve the hydrologic conditions of Taylor Slough.
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It is encouraging that periphyton across Taylor Slough does not show significant signs of phosphorus FIGURE 3-16 Daily water levels at Taylor Slough Bridge (TSB) for water years (WY)
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, suggesting that increased flows from C-111 SCW and other recently completed projects within the C-111 Basin have been insufficient to offset the effects of sea-level rise. Hydrologic and water quality changes are continuing to occur within the vicinity of the C-111 SCW Project footprint.
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Restoration Progress 75 FIGURE 3-17 Surface-water stages at monitoring gage site EPSW in the Southern Glades for 1993-1997 (blue) , which represented very wet conditions; 2016-2021 (black)
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SOURCE: Redwine, 2022. and addition of new structures such as pump stations and gated spillways; a new large water storage feature (the EAA Reservoir)
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Restoration Progress 77 FIGURE 3-19 CEPP features. SOURCE: Modified from Waugh, 2020.
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. This project is designed to reduce seep age from Northeast Shark River Slough into the 8.5 Square Mile Area, thereby 12 The water quality–based effluent limit (WQBEL)
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From page 79... ...
Restoration Progress 79 FIGURE 3-20 Location of the 4.9-mile CEPP New Water seepage barrier, adjacent to the 2.3-mile seepage barrier currently under construction by the SFWMD. The combined seepage barrier along the 8.5 Square Mile Area would end 1.6 miles from the end of the 5-mile Rock Miners Seepage Wall.
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From page 80... ...
The timely delivery of the intended benefits of the EAA Reservoir is dependent on the performance of both the existing STAs and the A-2 STA. The CEPP A-2 STA was sized assuming that excess capacity in the state's STAs could be used in the dry season to treat water from the EAA Reservoir and increase dry season flows to the south.
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, is much more difficult to rear, and efforts are under way to obtain a colony for release. Water hyacinth has been the focus of biological control efforts since the 1970s.
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From page 82... ...
CERP Projects in Planning: Western Everglades Restoration Project (WERP) Planning for WERP (Figure 3-3, No.
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From page 83... ...
If this timeline were met, WERP could be authorized as early as 2024. Systemwide Operational Plans: The Combined Operational Plan The COP is a comprehensive, integrated water control plan that defines the operations of the constructed features of the recently completed Modified Water Deliveries to Everglades National Park (Mod Waters)
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From page 84... ...
84 Progress Toward Restoring the Everglades FIGURE 3-22 Components of Alt-Hr, the currently proposed WERP tentatively selected plan. SOURCE: https://www.saj.usace.army.mil/WERP/.
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Restoration Progress 85 FIGURE 3-23 The non-CERP Modified Water Deliveries and C-111 South Dade projects, the Rock Miners seepage barrier (dark red in the figure) , and the CERP C-111 Spreader Canal Project all contribute to increased flows in Northeast Shark River Slough and Taylor Slough in Everglades National Park.
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From page 86... ...
. First, raising the Tamiami Trail and bridg ing extensive portions of it enables increased flows into Northeast Shark River Slough and Everglades National Park, and much more of it as sheet flow (see Box 3-2)
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From page 87... ...
when the COP became fully operational in 2020. Early indications are that flows across the Tamiami Trail into Shark River Slough in Everglades National Park will be increased significantly under the COP compared to previous water management plans (Figure 3-25)
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From page 88... ...
SOURCE: Vélez, 2022b. Slough compared to Western Shark River Slough, better matching historic pat terns.
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