The reservoir will recharge the aquifer that provides South Florida residents with clean drinking water and reduce harmful algal blooms.
A joint project between the US Army Corps of Engineers and the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) will bring the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA), a multi-billion dollar reservoir, to the state of Florida to fulfill a decades-long Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan.
“Increasing freshwater inputs through restoration has the potential to slow down the impacts of saltwater intrusion into our vulnerable water supply,” Chabba said. However, other environmental experts believe the reservoir comes with its share of concerns, like the reality of rising sea levels and rainfall patterns potentially altering the long-term effectiveness of the project. “…The entire ecosystem is a leaky system. It’s an extremely delicate balance between drinking water and flood control,” said Barry Rosen, a professor of ecology and environment at Florida Gulf Coast University. The professor questions the usefulness of the water if the reservoir becomes home to an algae bloom.
Smaller solutions have already been established as the reservoir is under construction, like raising sections of the Tamiami Trail, which crosses the Everglades, and installing a 2.6-mile-long bridge. Both projects improve the water flow into the Northeast Shark River Slough, located in Everglades National Park.
Source: Black Enterprise
