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PALM BEACH COUNTY – Marking Florida’s ongoing commitment to
Everglades restoration, State Sen. David Aronberg, State Rep. Richard Machek,
and State Rep. Shelley Vana joined Florida Department of Environmental
Protection (DEP) Secretary Colleen M. Castille and South Florida Water
Management District Governing Board Member Lennart E. Lindhal to break
ground on the fourth Acceler8 project in just six months.
Part of the state’s plan to fast track the restoration of America’s
Everglades, the $33.6 million Water Preserve Area/Acme Basin B Discharge
Project near the village of Wellington in Palm Beach County will improve the
quality of water flowing into the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National
Wildlife Refuge.
“The Acme Basin B Discharge Project will divert stormwater runoff north
and to a treatment wetland before flowing into the Wildlife Refuge, leading
the way for water quality improvements,” said Secretary Castille. “The
health of this sensitive ecosystem will benefit from additional reductions
in phosphorus, expediting restoration and allowing the native flora and
fauna to recover.”
The Water Preserve Areas consist of a series of five project components
adjacent to the Everglades Water Conservation Areas in Palm Beach, Broward
and Miami-Dade counties. As one of the components, the Acme Basin B
Discharge Project will improve water quality by diverting urban stormwater
runoff into the C-51 canal and away from the Loxahatchee National Wildlife
Refuge. This critical project will help to end all discharges into the
Refuge by December 2006.
“The Water Preserve Area projects remind us how close we really are to
the Everglades. For many residents in Wellington, it is literally in their
backyards,” said Lindahl. “That’s why it is so important for South Florida
residents to understand that their actions really can make a difference. You
can either contribute to the problem or contribute to the solution.”
The Acme Basin B Discharge Project will include a new pump station and
improvements to the C-1 canal, which will increase conveyance capacity and
provide a connection to the C-51 canal. A new impoundment and second pump
station will provide temporary water storage for 1,028 acre-feet of water –
the equivalent of more than 500 Olympic-sized swimming pools – maintaining
flood protection in the local drainage basin (Acme Basin B).
Announced by Governor Bush in October 2004, Acceler8 is stepping up the
pace of 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 418,000 acre-feet of
additional water storage for Everglades restoration a decade ahead of
schedule.
The Acme Basin B Discharge Project is the fourth Acceler8 project
launched this year. The State began expanding three treatment wetlands and
construction started on the C-43 Caloosahatchee West Storage Reservoir in
February. The C-44 (St. Lucie Canal) Reservoir/Stormwater Treatment Area
launched construction in March.
Under the leadership of Governor Bush, Florida has forged ahead to
implement the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan with an investment
of $1.3 billion and a commitment for an additional $3.2 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. | 
