March 2, 2018

Annual Report Highlights Everglades Water Quality Improvement, State of the South Florida Ecosystem
Restoration progress, water quality successes are among 2018 highlights
 
Click on the image to read the 2018 South Florida Environmental Report Highlights.
 
West Palm Beach, FL - The South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) and Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) this week released the 2018 South Florida Environmental Report detailing a year of science, engineering and environmental restoration aimed at improving the Everglades, Lake Okeechobee, Kissimmee Basin and South Florida coastal areas.
 
"Water quality in the Everglades is improving every year, and the completion of restoration projects continues to build upon this incredible achievement," said SFWMD Water Resource Division Director Terrie Bates. "The 2018 South Florida Environmental Report provides the public with valuable insight into the important restoration work that helped accomplish this goal, as well as detailing plans for continued environmental success in South Florida."
 
Spanning three volumes, the 2018 South Florida Environmental Report consolidates dozens of individual reports. The volumes, plus a 13-page summary and highlights, provide extensive peer-reviewed research summaries, data analyses, financial updates and a searchable database of environmental projects.
  
  • Everglades water quality continues to show signs of improvement. In 2017, overall, 90 percent of the Everglades was at or below 10 parts per billion of phosphorus.
     
  • Over a 23-year operational history, the Everglades STAs have treated approximately 18.6 million acre-feet of water and have retained 2,329 metric tons of total phosphorus (TP). In Water Year 2017 (May 1, 2016 - April 30, 2017), with 57,000 acres of treatment area, the stormwater treatment areas (STAs) treated 1.1 million acre-feet of water -- more than 851,000 acre-feet from agricultural and urban runoff and 239,000 acre-feet from Lake Okeechobee. STAs reduced both inflow TP load and concentration by 84 percent, keeping 108 metric tons of TP from entering the Everglades Protection Area during Water Year 2017.
     
  • Approximately 22 years of best management practices (BMPs) on agricultural lands have prevented 3,208 metric tons of phosphorus from flowing to the Everglades. The SFWMD Everglades Program mandates quantifiable phosphorus reductions at the source. Implementation of practical cost-effective BMPs for phosphorus inputs, stormwater management and soil conservation, along with multilevel monitoring and tracking, has achieved this success.
     
  • Implementation of the Governor's Restoration Strategies initiative advanced in Water Year 2017. Under this program, the District is implementing a regional water quality plan to treat water between Lake Okeechobee and the greater Everglades. The plan includes 6,500 acres of new STAs and 116,000 acre-feet of additional water storage utilizing flow equalization basins (FEBs).
     
    To date, constructed and operational FEBs total 105,000 acre-feet of additional water storage. The L-8 FEB, located in the Eastern Flow Path, is complete and operational and can store approximately 45,000 acre-feet of water. The A-1 FEB, located in the Central Flow Path, can store approximately 60,000 acre-feet and is also complete and operational. Within the Western Flow Path, the C-139 FEB will store approximately 11,000 acre-feet of water. Design will begin in October 2018.
While working parallel to the projects highlighted in the SFER, the District also created an implementable plan to build the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) Storage Reservoir. This optimized project will significantly reduce the volume of damaging discharges from Lake Okeechobee to the northern estuaries and provide additional water storage, treatment and conveyance south to the Everglades.
 
Under the leadership of Executive Director Ernie Marks, SFWMD also began utilizing a dedicated digital web board to gather all public comments and input used in the creation of the SFER. This transparency  enhancement is just another way the District seeks to improve a public process that is vital to creating an annual report that showcases yearly improvements to the entire South Florida region.
   
 
 
Media Contact: 
Randy Smith  |   rrsmith@sfwmd.gov    |  Office: 561-682-2800  |  Cell: 561-389-3386
The South Florida Water Management District is a regional governmental agency that manages the water resources in the southern part of the state. It is the oldest and largest of the state's five water management districts. Our mission is to protect South Florida's water resources by balancing and improving flood control, water supply, water quality and natural systems.

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