Everglades Restoration A Program for Integrated Regional Management

1. Everglades RestorationA Program for Integrated Regional Management Garth W. Redfield, Ph.D. Chief Environmental Scientist, South Florida Water Management District

2. Greater Everglades Ecosystem Orlando Kissimmee River St. Lucie River and Estuary Lake Okeechobee Caloosahatchee River and Estuary Water Conservation Areas Big Cypress National Preserve Miami Biscayne Bay National Park Everglades National Park Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary

3. The Everglades Ecosystem

4. Areas Flooded in 1926 & 1928 Areas Flooded in 1947 Historical ProblemsLeading to Construction of C&SF Project • Hurricanes in 1926 and 1928 resulted in failure of the levee around Lake Okeechobee • Hurricane in 1947 resulted in wide-spread flooding throughout South Florida • State of Florida requested Federal assistance in 1947 • Congress authorized the C&SF Project in 1948

5. Central & Southern Florida Project • River Channelization • Herbert Hoover Dike • Water Conservation Areas • Protective Levees • Everglades Agricultural Area • Lower East Coast • Drainage Network • Salinity Structures

6. Central and Southern Florida Project • 2,800 kilometers of canals and levees • 160 major drainage basins • Over 2,000 water control structures • 200 major structures • 36 pump stations

7. C&SF Project Infrastructure One of the world’s largest and most complex water resource management systems

8. System Modifications Historic Flow Current Flow

9. Everglades Restoration & Water Management Challenges • Climate is subtropical with “extremes” • Regional system stressed by population & land use • Must balance: • Multiple water resource objectives • Objectives often conflict

10. An Ecosystem in Trouble…. • Too much or too little water for the South Florida ecosystem • 6.4 million cubic meters of water per day is lost to the ocean • Declining estuary health • Massive reductions in wading bird populations • Degradation of water quality • Loss of native habitat to invasive exotic vegetation • 70 Federally-listed threatened and endangered species

12. Half of the Everglades Lost to Urban and Agricultural Development

13. C&SF Project Comprehensive Review Study • Study authorized by Congress in the Water Resources Development Act of 1992 • Study was initiated in June 1993 • Purpose of Study is to reexamine the C&SF Project to: • Restore South Florida ecosystem • Enhance water supplies • Maintain flood control

14. Interagency Team • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers • South Florida Water Management District • Federal agencies • State agencies • Miccosukee and Seminole Tribes • Local governments

15. Rescuing an Endangered Ecosystem:The Plan to Restore America’s Everglades The Central and Southern Florida Project Comprehensive Review Study (The Restudy) July 1999 On July 1, 1999, the Secretary of the Army and the State of Florida presented the Plan to Congress Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan

16. Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan Plan includes 68 components to be implemented over 35 years.

17. Quantity Quality Timing Distribution Getting the Water Right: A Rational Premise or Risky Assumption

18. Balancing Water Needs of the Ecosystem

19. Primary Goal - Increase the Amount of Available Water Environment 30% 70% Environment 50% 50% Urban & Agricultural Current Deliveries1.5 Billion Cubic Meters per year Urban & Agricultural Deliveries with CERP3 Billion Cubic Meters per year

20. Wetlands Restoration

21. Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Program Orlando Kissimmee River Lake Okeechobee Wetland Restoration West Palm Beach Ft. Myers Water Conservation Areas Fort Lauderdale Big Cypress National Preserve 185,000 acres (75,000 hectares) Miami Biscayne Bay Everglades National Park Florida Bay Florida Keys

22. Surface Water Storage Reservoirs

23. Orlando Kissimmee River Lake Okeechobee West Palm Beach Ft. Myers Water Conservation Areas Fort Lauderdale Big Cypress National Preserve Miami Biscayne Bay Everglades National Park Florida Bay Florida Keys Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan 15 Surface Water Storage Reservoirs Total Storage Capacity: 1.8 billion cubic meters

24. Aquifer Storage and Recovery:A Challenging Approach

25. Orlando Kissimmee River Lake Okeechobee West Palm Beach Ft. Myers Water Conservation Areas Fort Lauderdale Big Cypress National Preserve Miami Biscayne Bay Everglades National Park Florida Bay Florida Keys Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan Aquifer Storage and Recovery 330 ASR Wells Possible 3 Pilot Projects in progress 10 wells being installed in the L.O. watershed Total ASR Capacity: 6 million cubic meters per day

26. Orlando Kissimmee River Lake Okeechobee West Palm Beach Ft. Myers Water Conservation Areas Fort Lauderdale Big Cypress National Preserve Miami Biscayne Bay Everglades National Park Florida Bay Florida Keys Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan Seepage Management

27. Stormwater Treatment Areas

28. Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan Orlando Kissimmee River Stormwater Treatment Areas Lake Okeechobee West Palm Beach Ft. Myers Water Conservation Areas Fort Lauderdale Big Cypress National Preserve Miami 22 Treatment Areas 18,000 hectares of wetlands Biscayne Bay Everglades National Park Florida Bay Florida Keys

29. Orlando Kissimmee River Lake Okeechobee West Palm Beach Ft. Myers Water Conservation Areas Big Cypress National Preserve Fort Lauderdale Miami Biscayne Bay Everglades National Park Florida Bay Florida Keys Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan Removing Barriers to Sheet Flow

30. $ $ $ $ Estimated Cost • $10.9 billion over 35 years to implement (2004 dollars) • More than $170 million per year to operate and maintain • $10 million per year for monitoring and adaptive assessment • Cost sharing depends on federal authorization process Project Cost Sharing 50%Federal 50%State

31. WRDA-2000 ProvisionsAssurance of Project Benefits • Reservation of water for the natural system • Savings Clause • No elimination of existing legal sources • No reduction in the level of service for flood protection January 9, 2002

32. Acceler8 ProgramAn Interagency Commitment The Federal government agrees to expedite their planning and permitting decisions Oct 14, 2004 State of Florida commits to fund a $1.6 Billion accelerated restoration effort

33. Acceler8 ProgramEarly Restoration Benefits To be Constructed by 2010: • Over 500 million cubic meters of reservoir storage capacity • Over 11,000 hectares of Stormwater Treatment Areas • Over 35,000 hectares of natural areas restoration

34. Everglades Agricultural Area Storage Reservoir Future (2010) Current (2005)

35. Everglades Restoration:Peer Review (CISRERP) National Academy of Sciences, first biennial review, 2006 concludes: There are successes - Kissimmee Restoration has worked Water quality programs are effective Science is progressing – MAP is ready for implementation Good adaptive management strategy

36. Everglades Restoration:Peer Review (CISRERP) National Academy of Sciences, first biennial review, 2006 concludes: CERP Project Status – Key projects have been delayed More federal funding is needed Improve project planning and funding Use an Incremental Adaptive Restoration approach to initiating and evaluating projects with large uncertainties

37. Everglades Restoration:Obstacles & Opportunities Obstacles: Massive Scale of Effort; Land Acquisition Funding; Interagency Cooperation Technical Limitations Opportunities: Restore Valued Regional Resources Provide Sustainable Balance of Management Objectives Contribute Information for Large-Scale Restoration Projects Worldwide

38. www.evergladesplan.org For more information, visit our Websites www.evergladesnow.org

39. Thank you Questions ?