Central & Southern Florida Project

George Horne

Deputy Executive Director

Operations & Maintenance Resource Area

The Original Everglades Ecosystem“River of Grass”

• Water connected the system, from top to bottom

• 9 million acres of wetlands providing a variety of habitat

• Diverse mosaic of landscapes and seascapes

System Modifications

1848 “Swamp & Overflowed Lands” Act

• Congress conveyed swamp lands to the State of Florida with the condition they be drained

• Explorers, military officers & surveyors proposed drainage canals to drain regional wetlands systems in south and central Florida

• Proposals included canals draining Lake Okeechobee to the east and west coasts

Swamp lands “reclaimed” for agriculture

• Start of farming south of Lake Okeechobee

Areas Floodedin 1926 & 1928

Severe droughts in the mid-1930’smuck fires, salt water intrusion

1947 Hurricanes

• Two hurricanes

• 12 inches of rain fell in a 30 minute period

• In some areas, more than 100” of rainfall that year

- Courtesy of the Sun Sentinel & Fort Lauderdale Historical Society

Even the best engineered

projects can’t control

Mother Nature

Newly constructed

After the flood of 1922

“Central and Southern Florida Project for Flood Control and Other Purposes”

Authorized by Congress in 1948 *

(* Everglades National Park established six months before)

The Central & Southern Florida Project

Central and Southern Florida Flood Control District

• Flood Control District (F.C.D.) formed in 1949 as local sponsor for the federally authorized flood control project

Acquire necessary lands for the project

Operate system after construction

The “Project Purpose”

• Flood Control

• Water Supply Agriculture

Urban

Everglades National Park

Saltwater Intrusion

• Navigation

• Protection and enhancements of the ecosystem

Major C&SF Project Components

• River Channelization

• Herbert Hoover Dike

• Water Conservation Areas

• Protective Levees Everglades Agricultural Area

Lower East Coast

• Drainage Network Salinity Structures

Water Resources Act of 1972

• 5 regional water management districts created

• Boundaries based on hydrologic boundaries

• 9 - 11 member Governing Board appointed by the Governor

• Ad valorem taxing capability

Chapter 373, Florida Statutes “Tool Box”

• Operations

• Land Acquisition

• Land Management

• Public Use

• Research

• Ecosystem Restoration

• Construction

• Taxing Authority

• Planning

• Regulation

S F W M D

South Florida Water Management District System Components

Approximately:

• 2,000 miles of canalsand levees

• 160 major water basins

• 500 major water control structures

• 60 pump stations

Water Management Challenges

Miami River and Miami Canalin 1912

Contemporary photo of

the same area

Miami International Airport

Kissimmee River

Natural river C-38 Canal

103

56

65

78

MILES

Kissimmee River Restoration

Lake Okeechobee

• 730 square miles, with a contributing basin of over 5,000 sq. miles

• Poor water quality inflows (phosphorus)

• Serves multiple purposes... Water Supply Storage

Flood Protection

Unique Ecosystem

Recreation

Lake OkeechobeeNatural vs. Altered Conditions

• Littoral marsh reduced

• Discharge to the Everglades significantly reduced

• Discharge to coastal estuaries significantly increased

• Modified range of typical stages

Lake OkeechobeeDesign Discharge Capacities

• Inflows to the lake frequently exceed total outflow capacity

• Outflow capacity to the St. Lucie & Caloosahatchee far exceeds outflow capacity to the Water Conservation Areas

Low salinity Sedimentation Low light penetration

Damaging freshwater discharges to theSt. Lucie & Caloosahatchee Estuaries

Everglades

• Too much / too little water

• Degradation of water quality

• Significant loss of Everglades habitat

Everglades Forever Act

• Everglades Construction Project

• 6 Stormwater Treatment Areas (STAs)

• 44,000 acres of created wetland treatment marsh

Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP)

• Restore, protect, and preserve the water resources of central and south Florida

• 60+ projects Physical Facilities

Land Acquisition

Operations & Maintenance

• Storage is key

Water Supply for Everyone

C&SF ProjectStrengths & Weaknesses

• Provides significant benefits to developed areas

Flood control

Water supply

• Unintended ecological impacts associated with C&SF construction and operation

South Florida Water Resource Management Challenges

• Florida’s climate is one of “extremes”

• System stressed by population & land use

• Current C&SF System taxed to meet all the water resource objectives of the region

• BALANCE Multiple water resource

objectives

Objectives often conflict

Questions?