FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 7, 2003
CONTACT: Deena Wells, (850) 245-2112
Everglades
Restoration Providing
Local Benefits
--State and federal partners break ground on Ten Mile Creek--
TEN MILE CREEK – Department of Environmental Protection
Secretary David B. Struhs today joined John Paul Woodley,
Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, the South
Florida Water Management District and the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers to break ground on the Ten Mile Creek Water Preserve.
The project is increasing protection for the St. Lucie Estuary
and Indian River Lagoon by improving water quality and providing
needed water storage in the region.
“Today’s event marks another milestone in the
comprehensive restoration of America’s Everglades,” said
Secretary Struhs. “Improving water quality and stabilizing the
flow of freshwater into the St. Lucie will protect the natural
balance of the saltwater estuary.”
Ten Mile Creek is a major tributary of the North Fork of the
St. Lucie River, contributing nearly 25 percent of the river’s
flow. The 1,266-acre project site includes a 550-acre reservoir
and a 110-acre treatment marsh that will filter pollution from
water entering the creek. The reservoir, which will hold 6,000
acre-feet of water at an average depth of 10 feet, provides an
alternative to discharging excess water into the St. Lucie. As
much as 150,000 acre-feet of excess water is discharged into the
river annually.
“Our efforts today are one piece of the puzzle to restore a
more natural flow of water to the famed River of Grass,” said
Secretary Struhs. “The benefits are local, regional and
system-wide.”
The Ten Mile Creek Water Preserve Area project is a vital
component of Everglades restoration and one of nine critical
projects authorized by Congress in 1996 to provide immediate
benefits to the South Florida ecosystem.
The project site is comprised of an old citrus grove and some
creek floodplain. An archaeological survey of the land revealed
four prehistoric sites, dating back 2000 to 4000 years. The
sites contained an unusually high concentration of ceramics and
stone tool material. The Florida Bureau of Archaeological
Research is cataloguing and preserving all artifacts.
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