But in this year’s NAS report, scientists say those original estimates might be vastly underestimated and cited other reasons that the storage estimates might be inadequate. The high level of pollution in Lake O will likely require more capacity to clean water than previously thought. And a sprawling network of wells to store water in the aquifer was downsized by more than half after an 11-year study. Water storage calculations also need to accommodate changing sea levels triggered by climate change.
As with all things Everglades, things got nasty when the scientists suggested updating the comprehensive plan to address the shortfalls.
“The Committee’s recommendation is saturated in self-interest,” the district said in a statement about the team that included a Yale hydrologist and the water district’s former chief scientist. “It solely benefits the Committee’s agenda to order more studies, when South Florida is in need of serious action.”
To be fair, even critics acknowledge that work by the district has picked up considerably in recent years in part because of a 2012 settlement Scott signed with the federal government to resolve long-running pollution lawsuits. Now dubbed “Restoration Strategies,” the project calls for the cleanup work to be finished by 2026.
