Orlando Sentinel | Commentary by Daniel Andrews, Eric Eikenberg, James Evans, and Mark Perry, November 9, 2023
South Florida’s dry season began on Nov. 1, but as we write, Lake Okeechobee’s water level sits at 16 feet, threatening coastal communities with potentially devastating discharges. Wet season runoff from sugarcane operations within the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) is still having a disproportionate impact on the current flooding in the central Everglades, posing a threat to wildlife.
While short-term measures may alleviate the problem, the ultimate solution is completion of road raising, additional culverts and bridges along the Tamiami Trail to allow more water to flow through the Everglades area. These roadway modifications were assumed in the 2014 Central Everglades Planning Project (CEPP) and recognized as being a critical means of flowing water into Everglades National Park in the 2000 Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP).
Recent investments by both the federal and state governments have already greatly improved the situation and given water managers at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) greater tools to manage the vast volumes of water sustainably and responsibly. Looking out onto the flooded tree islands today, one can only imagine what would have happened had we not already bridged parts of the Tamiami Trail to allow large volumes of water to flow south.
Nevertheless, more needs to happen — and soon.
The current flooding of the tree islands within the central Everglades should serve as a catalyst for both Washington and Tallahassee to redouble investments in restoring the natural sheet flow of water south from Lake Okeechobee. Toward that end, the U.S. House of Representatives has approved a robust $425 million for Everglades restoration for Fiscal Year 2024.
Water storage reservoirs to the north, east, west and south of Lake Okeechobee are envisioned by CERP. Only one of these, along the St. Lucie River to the east of the lake, has been completed so far, although the Corps is still working with contractors through operational testing to correct seepage problems.
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