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CERP Project:
Caloosahatchee River (C-43) West Basin Storage Reservoir and Caloosahatchee Watershed

What's New - C-43 West Basin Storage Reservoir Project:

For 5,000 years, the greater Everglades’ ecosystem flourished in South Florida, nurtured by sun and frequent rain. Runoff from the pinewoods and prairies of the Kissimmee River Basin flowed into Lake Okeechobee. The water then spilled over the south shore of the lake, and in shallow sheets flowed through vast stretches of sawgrass in a slow journey to Florida Bay.

In Southwest Florida, the Caloosahatchee River collected the runoff and funneled the water west into the Gulf of Mexico. At the river’s mouth, where fresh and salt water mixed, a large, lush estuary evolved providing shelter and forage for an array of fish, shellfish, birds, and wildlife.

Much has changed in the last 120 years as man sought to tame Florida’s watery wilderness. In 1881, a Philadelphia developer, Hamilton Disston, purchased from the state some four million acres around Lake Okeechobee for 25-cents an acre. A year later he succeeded in cutting a canal that, for the first time,  directly linked Lake Okeechobee to the Caloosahatchee River and opened the region to navigation and development. In the years since, the river’s navigation channel was enlarged, improved, and eventually incorporated into the 1948 Central and Southern Flood Control Project as the C-43 canal. For most purposes, the C-43 canal and Caloosahatchee River are one and the same.

When water is discharged from Lake Okeechobee into the Caloosahatchee River following a heavy rain, it moves down the river and is quickly released into the Gulf. This surge of fresh water changes delicate estuarine salinity levels and harms brackish marine habitats.

A restudy of the 1948 flood-control project to determine how to reverse such damage led to the 30- year, Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP), which was approved by Congress in the Water Resources Development Act of 2000. Congress authorized the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to work cooperatively with the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD), and other federal, state and local agencies, to implement CERP, provided existing flood protection is maintained and the supply of water to current users is not disrupted.

Project Purpose

The purpose of the “C-43 Basin Storage Reservoir - Part 1” project is to improve the timing, quantity, and quality of freshwater flows to the Caloosahatchee River estuary.

Currently, the South Florida flood control system stores water in Lake Okeechobee. Excess water is discharged when the lake rises to a level that threatens flooding , the health of the lake, or the integrity of the Herbert Hoover Dike. The resulting, unnatural surges of fresh water down the river reduce estuarine salinity levels. Alternately, during drought periods when irrigation demands are high, little or no water is released to the river. Deprived of diluting fresh water, estuarine salinity levels rise, which can trigger die-offs of sea grasses and oysters, species that are indicatorse of the overall health of the estuary.

The C-43 West Basin Storage Reservoir will be used to ensure a more natural, consistent flow of fresh water to the estuary. Basin stormwater runoff, along with a portion of the water discharged from Lake Okeechobee, will be captured and stored in a reservoir to be released slowly, as needed, to restore and maintain the estuary.

This project also will provide water-supply benefits, some management of floodwaters, and recreation benefits.

The Chief Report for the C-43 West Basin Storage Reservoir was assigned March 19, 2010. The plan included a 170,000 acre- foot storage reservoir with a 1500cfs pump capacity. The 10,700 acre reservoir is located at the Barry Groves site.

Benefits and Costs

Planning, design, land acquisition, and construction costs are estimated at $201 million. The state and federal governments will share costs equally. The statedesignated local sponsor of this project is the South Florida Water Management District. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2007 and to be completed in the spring of 2011. The environmental benefits of restoration cannot be expressed solely in monetary terms; so alternative costbenefit studies are conducted. This project is vital to restoration of the Caloosahatchee River estuary. It also provides some new flexibility for managing and restoring Lake Okeechobee, which often is referred to as the "liquid heart" of the greater Everglades ecosystem.

Implementation Process

The Project Management Plan (PMP) was approved in February 2002. A follow-on document, the Project Implementation Report (PIR) will evaluate several alternatives, recommend a preferred plan, and provide an environmental-impact assessment of the preferred plan. Public involvement will be sought throughout this process. Public workshops, hearings, and stakeholder meetings are scheduled. The Record of Decision and submission to Congress is anticipated November 2010. Construction is dependent upon congressional authorization (generally in a Water Resources Act).

Project Contacts:

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers:

Steve Baisden, Project Manager
Stephen.A.Baisden@usace.army.mil

Sponsor:

Janet Starnes, Project Manager
jstarne@sfwmd.gov

Project Details:

Project Sponsor:	South Florida Water Management District
Project Schedule:	For scheduling information regarding this project, please see the Master Implementation Sequencing Plan (MISP).
Project Phase:	Planning
Design Agreement:	12 May 2000
CERP Component Designation:	D Part 1
Project Cooperation Agreement:
Authorization:	Not currently authorized

 

 

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