West Palm Beach, FL
- The South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) Governing Board on Thursday unanimously approved to expand the scope of work for the ongoing Allapattah Ranch Wetland Reserve Project in western Martin County. The project restores wetlands and provides benefits to the St. Lucie Estuary.
SFWMD began construction of the Allapattah Ranch Wetland Reserve Project in 2016 on 16,000 acres of former agricultural land northwest of Indiantown, jointly owned by SFWMD and Martin County. The project restores approximately 4,400 acres of land to its natural wetlands state and installs berms, as well as other water control structures, allowing the land to hold water in shallow natural areas after rain events. This will reduce the amount of runoff flowing into the C-23 Canal and eventually the St. Lucie Estuary.
"Local stormwater runoff from Treasure Coast watersheds are a major contributor of excess nutrients that flow into the St. Lucie Estuary," said SFWMD Governing Board Member Brandon Tucker, a Palm City resident. "This District is behind any project that restores wetlands and slows the flow of local runoff for the benefit of Martin County residents and South Florida's habitat."
The project is being built in cooperation with the National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), a program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. NRCS provides technical and financial assistance to private landowners; local, state and federal government units; tribes; and international governments to maintain, conserve and enhance natural resources and the environment.
The NRCS is reimbursing SFWMD for 100 percent of the cost of constructing the Allapattah Ranch Wetland Reserve Project.
The Governing Board amended its agreement with the NRCS to expand the scope of work by $1 million to build an additional six miles of berm, two additional culverts and other minor work.
