Story

By Wes Wolfe

If you haven’t paid attention to the Everglades in a while, now might be a good time. Despite dour outlooks over the years, it’s not a stretch to note tremendous accomplishments in restoring the Everglades, and the boogeyman of yesterday is an important partner today in continuing to improve one of Florida’s most famous natural resources.

Coming up on the 30th anniversary of the Everglades Forever Act, around 95% of the Everglades now meets the 10 parts per billion phosphorus standard, and all of Everglades National Park is meeting the 10 parts per billion phosphorus standard. It’s a success story that happens when industry, regulators and the public move toward the same goal.

On top of that, farmers in the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) have been required to reduce phosphorus coming off their lands by 25%, but the EAA has averaged a 57% annual reduction for more than 25 years.

Getting to this point took developing and following best management practices (BMPs) developed at the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS).

“BMPs for the reduction of dissolved phosphorus have received considerable attention,” according to a UF/IFAS publication authored by Professor Samira Daroub, Center Director for Soil and Environmental Chemistry. “The primary sources for dissolved phosphorus are soil mineralization and fertilizer application. Mineralization of the organic soils of the EAA was accelerated by excessive draining, which exposes the subsoil to aerobic conditions, causing oxidation and solubilization of organically bound phosphorus.” People began determining when and where water flowed, resulting in buildup of phosphorus where there wasn’t previously, as nutrient-rich soil sped down canals instead of getting gradually filtered on the way to the ocean.

This is the challenge presented to growers in the region, including farmers at U.S. Sugar.

“Farmers are an important piece of this part of the Everglades, and the man-made drainage system was designed so that EAA or farm water was used to hydrate the more southern parts of the Everglades,” said Judy Sanchez, Senior Director of Corporate Communications and

Public Affairs for U.S. Sugar in Clewiston. “It is not really accurate to say that the naturally high nutrient levels of the land south of Lake Okeechobee, muck soils created by nature, are ‘pollution’ just because the government drainage system moved them in unnatural ways that created change.”

“They are natural parts of the Everglades. However, we now know how to move water in better ways.” tal phosphorus per acre after BMP implementation compared to 1.3 pounds total phosphorus per acre before (water year 1995).”

Results from BMPs became significant a decade into the work. These practices include sophisticated land leveling, canal and ditch sediment removal, retaining more water on land, soil testing before each planting, and a host of other practices.

One of those BMPs is the employment of cover crops to prevent erosion, so, for instance, U.S. Sugar isn’t just growing sugarcane on its fields south of Lake Okeechobee.

“THE BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES CONSCIENTIOUSLY IMPLEMENTED BY THE EAA FARMERS, WORKING IN TANDEM WITH THE STORMWATER TREATMENT AREAS CONSTRUCTED AND OPERATED BY THE WATER MANAGEMENT, HAVE RESULTED IN MEASURABLE AND SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN WATER QUALITY THROUGHOUT THE WATER CONSERVATION AREAS.”

“In (water year) 2004, phosphorus concentrations from the EAA averaged 69 parts per billion compared to the pre-BMP base period phosphorus concentration of 173 parts per billion,” according to UF/IFAS. “This major and sustainable reduction is directly attributable to the BMP program. Adjusted unit area loads on project farms averaged 0.73 pounds to-

“We have about a dozen or more vegetables that are grown, (including) kale, on our property,” Sanchez said. “So, this is where the winter and spring vegetables are produced, not only for Florida families, but for the nation’s families.”

Fruit and vegetables from fields in the EAA feed about 180 million people along the U.S. East Coast annually, according to statistics from the Florida Farm Bureau.

Water managers, including former South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) water resources manager Terrie Bates, agree the partnerships have been a success. “The best management practices conscientiously implemented by the EAA farmers, working in tandem with the stormwater treatment areas constructed and operated by the water management, have resulted in measurable and significant improvement in water quality throughout the Water Conservation Areas,” according to Bates.

Work isn’t slowing down — indeed, it’s bolstered by a recent announcement by Gov. Ron DeSantis

“Today, I am proud to announce the next step in this administration’s continued dedication to Florida’s treasured environment,” DeSantis said in early January. “This order directs funding and strategic action that will continue our momentum and enhance our ongoing efforts to expedite critical Everglades restoration projects, employ sound science to protect and restore our waterways, and fund infrastructure projects to improve water quality and safeguard Florida’s water supply.”

The DeSantis administration, through an executive order, committed the Department of Environmental Protection to secure $3.5 billion for Everglades restoration and water quality projects over the next four years.

“In Gov. DeSantis’ first term, we broke ground on, hit a major milestone and completed more than 50 Everglades restoration projects,” SFWMD Governing Board Chairman Chauncey Goss said. “Because of his unwavering commitment to our natural resources, the South Florida Water Management District will be able to do more to move water south, reduce harmful discharges, and improve water quality.”

“Florida has benefited from many different stakeholders stepping up in a big way to make Everglades Restoration a priority,” said former DEP Secretary Noah Valenstein, who served in the position under Govs. Rick Scott and DeSantis. “The federal and state support for these projects — combined with the implementation and success at a regional level — has been a major success story.”

Added Valenstein, “Gov. DeSantis and our federal partners deserve all the credit for their persistence in getting these projects the funding they need.”

Part of the task going forward must involve water storage north of Lake Okeechobee to help reduce the flow of nutrients into the lake and also cut down on the damaging releases to the coastal estuaries. Aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) wells are receiving attention as possibly the quickest and most cost-effective way to provide a major part of the needed storage.“

“Almost all of the inflow to the lake comes from the north and the com bination of some surface storage facilities and multiple ASR wells looks like an effective way to accommodate large volume storage in the sensitive upstream watershed,” said Michael Ellis, Vice President of Environmental Affairs for U.S. Sugar. “Preliminary investigations indicate that the geology there is well suited to the place ment of multiple ASR wells. When paired with an appropriate operational schedule for the lake, the wells would be operated to place into underground storage — water that would otherwise have ended up as unwanted discharge to the coastal

“The ASR wells have the very significant added benefit of being able to return water to the lake during dry periods when South Florida’s water users, including the environment, need it.”

The Governor and Legislature agreed to give $250 million over the last four years for the Lake Okeechobee Watershed Restoration Project, which takes advantage of these ASR wells, many of which are already in use around the state. The project is part

“IN ADDITION TO RESTORING IMPORTANT ECOSYSTEM FUNCTIONS IN THE OKEECHOBEE WATERSHED, THE PROJECT WILL ALLOW WATER MANAGERS TO OPTIMIZE MANAGEMENT FLEXIBILITY IN ORDER TO IMPROVE THE ECOLOGY OF THE LAKE, REDUCE HARMFUL DISCHARGES TO THE NORTHERN ESTUARIES, PROVIDE A MORE RELIABLE SOURCE OF WATER FOR MUNICIPAL AND AGRICULTURAL USE, AND GENERALLY FACILITATE THE ALLOCATION OF VOLUMES OF WATER WHEN AND WHERE IT IS NEEDED MOST.”

Marco Rubio

of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, a joint effort in which the federal and state governments, U.S. Sugar and other stakeholders came together in 2000 to support and start projects to secure the Everglades’ future.

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio emphasized the importance of the project in a letter to the Army Corps of Engineers in September asking the Corps to expedite a needed report to Congress.

“In addition to restoring important ecosystem functions in the Okeechobee watershed,” Rubio said, “the project will allow water managers to optimize management flexibility in order to improve the ecology of the lake, reduce harmful discharges to the Northern Estuaries, provide a more reliable source of water for municipal and agricultural use, and generally facilitate the allocation of volumes of water when and where it is needed most.”