Construction of EAA Reservoir: A reason for cautious celebration

By JIM METZLER

In a previous column, I mentioned that in 2018 the federal government authorized the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) Storage Reservoir be built south of Lake Okeechobee The purpose of the reservoir is to hold water from the lake and farm runoff in the wet season and release this water south in the dry season To comply with federal law, after leaving the reservoir, freshwater will move through a stormwater treatment area (STA) The STA is a network of manmade filter marshes designed to remove phosphorus and other nutrients that are harmful to the plants and wildlife before the water continues its path through the Everglades to Florida Bay.

The EAA Reservoir is a joint project by the state of Florida and the federal government The South Florida Water Management District, which owns the land, is responsible for creating the STA, as well as the canals what will convey the water from the lake to the reservoir The SFWMD has already begun construction on the STA and the canals and hopes to complete these projects within a year

Guest Commentary

The U S Army Corps of Engineers is responsible for constructing the reservoir As noted in the title, there is reason for optimism relative to the construction of the reservoir That optimism stems from the fact that the Corps intends to start construction this week

It is estimated that given that start date, if all goes well with the construction and funding or the reservoir, the EAA reservoir will be in production sometime around 2031

However, as also noted in the title, it is important that we exercise caution For example, it is estimated that the federal government’s share of the cost of this project will exceed $3 billion In order for the reservoir to be in operation by 2031 groups, such as the “Ding” Darling Wildlife Society-Friends of the Refuge need to continue to advocate for significant funding for the project on an annual basis.

A bigger threat to the completion of the project comes from the fact that groups such as the sugar industry want to stop the project

‘Ding’ cartoon of the month

As we see President's Day in our rear-view mirror and the annual “Ding” D a r l i n g & D o c F o r d ’ s T a r p o n T o u r n a m e n t straight ahead, we thought it would be fun to share t h i s c h u c k l e p e n n e d i n 1 9 3 0 b y o u r o w n J a y Norwood “Ding” Darling. The Pulitzer-winning cart o o n i s t w a s a n a v i d sportsman, which led to h i s s t r o n g c o n s e r v a t i o n e t h i c , f r e q u e n t l y expressed in his political cartoons He was not shy either, about taking shots at the workings of the U S g o v e r n m e n t T h e “Ding” Darling Wildlife S o c i e t y - F r i e n d s o f t h e Refuge owns the copyr i g h t o f t h e “ D i n g ” Darling cartoons

REFUGE/DDWS

In 2021 the sugar industry sued the Corps demanding that the Corps stop the construction of the reservoir, claiming that the construction of the reservoir will reduce the amount of water to which they were entitled Many organizations have argued that the sugar industry’s legal argument is based on a misinterpretation. The lawsuit has been dormant for a while, but the suit is active again and there is some indication that it may soon be resolved Unfortunately even if the sugar industry loses this suit, there is no reason to believe that they will stop trying to stop the construction of the reservoir That is why groups such as the DDWS need to continue to advocate for the completion of the reservoir

Jim Metzler is co-chair of the Advocacy Committee for the “Ding” Darling Wildlife Society-Friends of the Refuge For more information, visit www dingdarlingsociety org