 |
April 12, 2018
SFWMD Approves Land Purchase from Willing Seller for EAA Storage Reservoir
Land is integrated with other publicly owned lands in the footprint of southern reservoir that reduces harmful discharges to northern estuaries and delivers CERP goal for clean water to the Everglades
|
|
| SFWMD has kept the public informed about the Everglades Agricultural Area Storage Reservoir project through an innovative web page that features an interactive map and milestone tracker. |
West Palm Beach, FL - The South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) Governing Board today approved a key land purchase from a willing seller necessary to build the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) Storage Reservoir.
"This was one of the objectives the Legislature set for us, to acquire lands to the west of the A-2 parcel from willing sellers for the reservoir project," said SFWMD Governing Board Member Dan O'Keefe. "Thanks to the Governor's vision of a restored and thriving Everglades and the guidance provided by the Legislature, this District has accomplished the goals laid out in Senate Bill 10 and delivered a scientifically sound report to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers."
The Governing Board approved the purchase of 490
|
|
|
Click on the map to see a larger version showing the land the SFWMD Governing Board approved for purchase. |
acres from the Seventh Day Baptist Church Memorial Fund west of the state-owned A-2 parcel. The District previously purchased another 9.97 acres from a separate private owner adjacent to the A-2 parcel. These lands were identified by Senate Bill 10 for purchase when the bill was passed by the Florida Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Rick Scott last year.
The Nature Conservancy was instrumental in helping to secure the original purchase of the property being utilized to build the EAA Storage Reservoir project, including this parcel.
"The Nature Conservancy has had a long-term commitment to the restoration of the Everglades including assisting with land acquisition in the Everglades Agricultural Area. We are thrilled the Board has approved the purchase of this critical property for inclusion in the reservoir project," said Temperince Morgan, Executive Director for The Nature Conservancy in Florida.
About the EAA Storage Reservoir
Through an extensive process of scientific-based modeling and public meetings, SFWMD staff created the Tentatively Selected Plan (TSP) for the EAA Storage Reservoir. Together with authorized projects, the TSP will send an annual average of approximately 370,000 additional acre-feet of clean water south to the Everglades that will be protected by rule or reservation to benefit the natural system. The TSP will also reduce the number of damaging discharge events from Lake Okeechobee to the northern estuaries by 63 percent when used in conjunction with authorized projects.
Additional flows south to the Everglades proposed by the TSP will be treated in a new 6,500-acre Stormwater Treatment Area (STA) in combination with existing STAs and Flow Equalization Basins (FEBs), such as the A-1 FEB, to achieve state water quality standards. The reservoir will store 240,000 acre-feet of water on the 10,100-acre site comprised of the District-owned A-2 parcel and lands to the west as identified in Senate Bill 10. The TSP will work in conjunction with Gov. Rick Scott's
Restoration Strategies for a total of 350,000 acre-feet of storage south of Lake Okeechobee.
A Central Everglades Planning Project (CEPP) Post Authorization Change Report (PACR), seeking federal approval to build the EAA Storage Reservoir, was sent to the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works in March and is currently under federal review.
The net increase in cost over the currently authorized CEPP is $1.1 billion. The total cost, defined as the capital investment costs, of the authorized CEPP, as modified by the PACR TSP, is $3.17 billion (2018 price level).
To read the CEPP PACR report seeking federal approval to build the EAA Storage Reservoir or for modeling data and more information on the previously held meetings, including agendas and presentations, visit
www.sfwmd.gov/eaareservoir.
|
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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
