Last year, Congress approved another major component, the Central Everglades Planning Project, drafted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the district’s federal partner in restoration. The suite of projects is designed to deliver more water south — a step that will require the Corps to finish long-delayed work to fix the old flood control system erected decades ago that helped cut off water to Everglades National Park. That work, the Modified Deliveries project, calls for more bridges along the Tamiami Trail and needs to be in place before the newly approved group of projects.
A record-breaking wet winter last year also led the district to tweak projects that put more water in the park, where decades of drying out are threatening valuable mangroves and peat that help protect Florida’s water supply.
But that progress hasn’t stopped the perpetual debate over restoration plans. Adding to the confusion in this year’s debate, the water management district and environmentalists actually agree on the need for a reservoir south of the lake.
