Of America’s Everglades & the South Florida Ecosystem the Restoration.

of America’s Everglades & the South Florida

Ecosystem

thetheRestorationRestoration

Presentation Outline

• History Lesson• South Florida Everglades Ecosystem

Restoration Program– Kissimmee– Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan– Acceler8

• Changes within Corps• Implementation Challenges

The “Original” Everglades Ecosystem

Water connected the system, from top to bottom

9 million acres of wetlands providing a variety of habitat

Diverse mosaic

Kissimmee – Lake O overflow its south bank

“River of Grass”

WHAT HAPPENED?WHAT HAPPENED?

Man Moved in and the Weather ChangedMan Moved in and the Weather ChangedBC and ADBC and AD

•1850 – Swamplands Act – Transformation•1880’s – Disston

Kissimmee River – NavigationLinked Caloosahatchee River to Lake O

•1890’s – Cut ‘n Try Era – Gov BrowardWPB, Hillsboro, NNR, and Miami Canals

•1920’s – Killer hurricanesShifted drainage to controlling flooding

•1930’s – Depression•1947 – Major hurricanes – 108 inches rain

1947 Flood1947 Flood AreasFlooded1947

Stuart

TampaTampa

CapeCanaveral

Miami

PalmBeach

EvergladesNationalPark

EvergladesNationalPark

Florida Keys

FortMyersFortMyers

Central & Southern Florida ProjectCentral & Southern Florida Project

(C&SF)(C&SF)• Authorization: Flood Control Act of 1948 +

• Purpose: Flood Control, Water Conservation & Control, Salt Water Intrusion, F&W, Water Supply to ENP, FL Bay/FL Keys, & Environmental Restoration

• Features: 46 bridges, 10 locks, 670 miles of canals, 809 miles of levees, 130 control & diversion structures, & 16 pump stations

• Project Cost: $2.9B • Cost Share: Varies• Local Sponsor: Various

Kissimmee Kissimmee River BasinRiver Basin

LakeLakeOkeechobeeOkeechobee

West Palm West Palm Beach Canal Beach Canal (C-51 / STA-1E)(C-51 / STA-1E)

FL Bay / FL Bay / FL KeysFL Keys

EvergladesEvergladesNational ParkNational Park

South Dade Co. South Dade Co. (C-111)(C-111)

SouthwestSouthwestFloridaFlorida

Biscayne BayBiscayne Bay

ORLANDOORLANDO

TAMPATAMPA

FT. MYERSFT. MYERS

MIAMIMIAMI

St. LucieSt. LucieCanalCanal

CaloosahatcheeCaloosahatcheeRiverRiver

WEST PALM WEST PALM BEACHBEACH

KEY WESTKEY WEST

Refrigeration/Mosquito Control

Population today ~ 6 million

Multi-Billion Dollar economy focused on tourism, agriculture, and commercial activities

The ResultsThe Results

South Florida South Florida FlourishedFlourished

HistoricFlow

HistoricFlow

CurrentFlow

CurrentFlow

• Too much/too little water for the Everglades/south Florida ecosystem

• Massive reductions in wading bird populations

• Degradation of water quality

• Repetitive water shortages and salt water intrusion

• Declining estuary health

• 1.7 billion gallons of water a day wasted to tide

However, the However, the Ecosystem is in Ecosystem is in Trouble….Trouble….

South Florida Everglades Ecosystem South Florida Everglades Ecosystem RestorationRestorationCurrent Program

KissimmeeRiver

Restoration

CriticalProjectsProgram

Modified WaterDeliveries to

ENP

Central &Southern

FloridaProject

Continuing Authorities Program(1135, 206)

C-111

Manatee

UpperSt Johns

C-51 / STA-1E

CERP

Kissimmee River RestorationKissimmee River Restoration• Authorization: WRDA 92

• Purpose: Environmental• Restoration

• Features: 22 Miles of Canal Backfilling, Levees, Control Structure Expansion, Canal Enlargement, and Structure Removal, Land Acquisition

• Project Cost: $572.4M

• Cost Share: 50/50

• Local Sponsor: South Florida Water Management District

ORLANDO

C-37C-36

S-65

S-65B Removed

S-65C Removed

LAKEOKEECHOBEE

Backfill

LAKEOKEECHOBEE

S-65-D

C-35

S-65-ELAKEISTOKPOGA

C-38S-65-A

CAPECANAVERAL

VEROBEACH

LOCATION MAP

Kissimmee River~1980 with Canal

Kissimmee River~1980 with Canal

Kissimmee RiverJuly 11, 2001

Kissimmee RiverJuly 11, 2001

On December 11, 2000, the President signed the Water Resources Development Act of 2000, approving:

ComprehensiComprehensive ve

Everglades Everglades Restoration Restoration

PlanPlanA series of environmental and other improvements over 30+ years with an estimated cost of $7.8 billion

Rescuing an Endangered Ecosystem: The Plan to Restore America’s Everglades

The Central and Southern Florida Project Comprehensive Review Study (The Restudy)

CERP

Orlando

Florida KeysFlorida Bay

Big CypressNational Preserve

Ft. Myers

Bis

cayn

e B

ayMiami

KissimmeeRiver

Fort Lauderdale

CaloosahatcheeRiver

St. Lucie River

West Palm

Beach

Okeechobee

WCAs

Lake

68CERPComponents

EvergladesNational

Park

Aquifer Storage & Recovery – 330 Wells

Surface Water Storage Reservoir – 170,000 acres

Stormwater Treatment Areas (STAs) – 36,000 acres

Reuse Wastewater at 2 Regional Plants

Seepage Management

Removing 240 miles of Barriers to Sheetflow

Operational Changes

CERP Serving as a CERP Serving as a Model for the FutureModel for the Future

• restoration programs

• inclusive planning and programming

• corporate capability

• strategic communications plans

• adaptive assessment & management

• outreach programs

• revised study & implementation process

This Plan represents the largest environmental restoration program that the Corps has ever undertaken. Thus it will serve as a guide for:

the principal goal of the Comprehensive Plan is to deliver the right amount of water, of the right quality, to the right places, and at the right time.

the principal goal of the Comprehensive Plan is to deliver the right amount of water, of the right quality, to the right places, and at the right time.

Get the water right...Get the water right...

QQTD

• South Florida Water Management District is primary partner

• Cost shared 50-50 with credit sharing between projects

• Over 30+ years to implement

• $172 million each year to operate & maintain (cost shared 50-50)

• South Florida Water Management District is primary partner

• Cost shared 50-50 with credit sharing between projects

• Over 30+ years to implement

• $172 million each year to operate & maintain (cost shared 50-50)

The PartnershipThe PartnershipFEDERALFEDERAL

50%50%STATESTATE50%50%

CERP

$$

HistoricFlow

HistoricFlow

CurrentFlow

CurrentFlow

FutureFlow

FutureFlow

The GoalThe GoalCERP

What’s ACCELER8?

• Accelerate Delivery of CERP Restoration Benefits

• State - $1.5 Billion – Certificates of Participation

• Accelerate the Entire Program, Not Just the “8”

• Impact on Jacksonville District Workload and The Future in Restoration Efforts

Acceler8 Projects

• IRL S – C44• Picayune Strand• C-43 Storage Reservoir• EAA Storage Reservoir• Biscayne Bay Coastal Wetlands• C-111 Spreader Canal• WPAs

• Site 1• C-9• C-11• Seepage Management• Acme B

• EAA STAs (B&C)

Changes in the Corps Changes in the Corps

COMPREHENSIVE EVERGLADES

RESTORATION PLAN

Jacksonville District Restoration Program Division

• Dennis Duke – Program Manager– Jim Boone – RECOVER– Cheryl Ulrich - Program Execution

• Provides strategic direction on project implementation issues, sponsor issues and internal Corps coordination issues

• Core Project Teams• Dedicated core team members• Must have approval from Executive Office to be reassigned• All team members remain assigned to their functional org• Number one priority C&SF projects

Restoration Program DivisionRestoration Program Division

PTL

ETL

PM

EnvironLead

H&HLead

DesignLead

Core/Special Team

EngineeringCST

Real EstateCST CST - CERP

Support Teams

ContractCST

RegulatoryCST

ConstrCST

COLead

CTLead

RDLeadFWS

Lead

GeotechLead

Cost EstLead

SFWMDPM

EconLead

RECOVER

DOIENPFWS

PlanningCST

SFWMDDEP

CounselCST

Project MgtCST

PROGRAMEXECUTION

Challenges1. Partnership 50%/50%2. Project Managers (Two now Three)3. Creating Guidance as We Are Implementing4. System versus Project Specific 5. Inter-connected ecosystem6. Expectation Management7. Master Implementation Sequencing Plan8. Dependence on Models9. Communication10. Public, Stakeholders and World in Watching

Where Do You Believe Ecosystem Restoration

Will Be In 2015?

How to keep upHow to keep upwww.evergladesplan.orgwww.evergladesplan.org