LABELLE – Department of Environmental Protection
(DEP) Secretary Colleen M. Castille and South Florida
Water Management District Executive Director Carol
Wehle today joined a host of local, environmental,
recreational, agricultural and business leaders to
begin building preliminary water storage areas as
part of the plan to construct the massive C-43
Caloosahatchee West Storage Reservoir. A component
of Florida’s Acceler8 initiative to fast-track
Everglades restoration, the 170,000 acre-feet
reservoir will protect the Caloosahatchee River and
Estuary when complete by capturing and storing
harmful freshwater releases from Lake Okeechobee.
“Beginning this important project is further
proof that Florida is stepping up the pace of South
Florida ecosystem restoration,” said DEP Secretary
Castille. "Sound science and aggressive initiatives
like Acceler8 are moving restoration forward ahead
of schedule to realize the environmental and social
benefits of this monumental plan earlier than
anticipated."
The South Florida Water Management District is
constructing two initial four-acre storage areas,
known as test cells, that will hold approximately 42
million gallons of water from Lake Okeechobee. The
test reservoirs will provide engineers with critical
water quality, embankment and seepage information to
design and build the C-43 Reservoir on more than
10,000 acres of former agricultural land known as
Berry Groves. Construction on the test cells is
scheduled to be completed by June 2006.
“These test cells are the result of public
participation at its best,” Alice Carlson, South
Florida Water Management District Governing Board
member, said. “The region’s citizens, community
leaders, state environmental scientists, engineers
and water managers worked together to address common
concerns to move forward with this significant
project and see restoration benefits faster.”
Located in Hendry County south of the
Caloosahatchee River and west of the Ortona lock,
the $338 million C-43 Reservoir will hold
approximately 170,000 acre-feet of water, 16 feet
deep. Scheduled to be operational by 2011, the
above-ground reservoir will comprise a significant
portion of the total water storage requirement for
the entire C-43 basin. The reservoir will capture
and store regulatory water releases from Lake
Okeechobee, reducing harmful discharges to the
coastal estuaries, improving the health of the
ecosystem and revitalizing fish and oyster habitats
by maintaining salinity levels. The project will
also provide public access and recreation
opportunities for outdoor enthusiasts when finished.
Announced by Governor Jeb Bush in October 2004,
Acceler8 is stepping up the pace for funding, design
and construction to complete eight critical
Everglades restoration projects over seven years. At
substantial savings to taxpayers, the projects will
restore 100,000 acres of wetlands, expand water
treatment areas by close to 29,000 acres and provide
428,000 acre-feet of additional water storage for
Everglades restoration a decade ahead of schedule.
The C-43 Reservoir is the fourth Acceler8 project
now underway and the second Acceler8 project to
launch in just two weeks. The State began expanding
three treatment wetlands in February and launched
similar test cells for the Everglades Agricultural
Area reservoir last year.
Under the leadership of Governor Bush, Florida
forged a 50-50 State-federal partnership to
implement the $8 billion Comprehensive Everglades
Restoration Plan and has invested $1.3 billion and
committed an additional $3 billion through the end
of the decade to clean up and restore the famed
River of Grass. For more information on Acceler8,
visit www.evergladesnow.org.
