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Everglades Restoration > Why Restore the Everglades - Part 5
Why Restore the Everglades - Part 5
What is the existing Central & South Florida (C&SF) Project?
The Central and Southern Florida Project was authorized 50 years ago to provide flood protection and fresh water to south Florida. This project accomplished its intended purpose and allowed people to more easily live on the land. It did so, however, at tremendous ecological cost to the Everglades. While the population of people has risen from 500,000 in the 1950s to more than 6 million today, the numbers of native birds and other wildlife have dwindled and some have vanished. The size of the Everglades has been reduced by half since the turn of the century. The splendor that was the Everglades is rapidly being lost.
Water is the lifeblood of the south Florida ecosystem. Compared to the historic Everglades, approximately 70 percent less water flows through the ecosystem today. The quality of the water that does enter the ecosystem has been seriously degraded. It does not follow the timing and duration of the natural Everglades nor can it move freely throughout the entire system. The whole south Florida ecosystem has suffered. The health of Lake Okeechobee, the second largest freshwater lake wholly in the United States and an important home to fish and wildlife, is seriously threatened. A number of plants and animals that live in south Florida and the Everglades are in danger of becoming extinct because their habitat has been damaged, reduced or eliminated. Clean water is not available to the estuaries and bays that are critical nurseries and homes to many fish and wildlife. There is not enough water for the people either. Water shortages and water restrictions are now a way of life in some parts of south Florida.
The Water Resources Development Acts of 1992 and 1996 provided the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers with the authority to review the current Central and Southern Florida Project. The Corps was asked to develop a Comprehensive Plan to restore and preserve south Florida’s natural ecosystem, while enhancing water supplies and maintaining flood protection. The resulting Central and Southern Florida Project Comprehensive Review Study – commonly called the Restudy – was led by the Army Corps of Engineers and the South Florida Water Management District. The Restudy was accomplished by a team of more than 100 ecologists, hydrologists, engineers and other professionals from more than 30 federal, state, tribal, and local agencies. Unlike most previous studies, the Restudy took a system-wide look at water.
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