Miami, FL - Amid record rainfall from storms such as Hurricane Irma, the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) has dramatically reduced the concentration of nutrients found in the Everglades.
"The tremendous investment made by the taxpayers of the state of Florida over the past two decades to improve water quality in the Everglades has paid off," said SFWMD Governing Board Chairman Federico Fernandez. "The restoration measures undertaken pursuant to state and federal permits for regulating Everglades water quality have achieved ultra-clean water quality standards of 10 parts per billion or less of phosphorus for at least 90 percent of the Everglades."
SFWMD Water Quality Bureau Chief Stuart Van Horn briefed the Governing Board at its monthly meeting in Miami on the results of the last five years regarding water quality in the Water Conservation Areas. From Hurricane Irma's deluge to other tropical systems, the District experienced one of the wettest years on record. The District received more than 51 inches of rain during the 2017 wet season, resulting in record rainfall and record amounts of water delivered to the Everglades. STAs have treated approximately 1.6 million acre-feet, or 520 billion gallons, of water before moving it south.
Since being constructed, the STAs have removed more than 2,600 metric tons of phosphorus from water entering the Everglades. Over $2 billion of state taxpayer dollars has been invested into water quality improvements over the last 20 years.
Background
The STAs, as well as source controls and other water quality measures implemented by the state, were created after a 1992 federal consent decree was reached between the state and federal governments. Both sides agreed to take steps to restore and protect the quality of water entering Everglades National Park and the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge.
SFWMD agreed to build 34,000 acres of STAs but has far surpassed the decree by building 57,000 acres of STAs. Additionally, SFWMD built two shallow storage features called Flow Equalization Basins (FEBs) that can store 105,000 acre-feet of water and help optimize the performance of the STAs. Going even further, SFWMD is currently constructing another 6,500 acres of STAs.
While the STAs were built because of the consent decree, they are now operated under far more stringent federal National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits that strictly govern the quality of water discharged from the STAs. The requirements of these permits, which are enforced by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, are completely separate from the consent decree and would exist whether or not the consent decree was enforced. The NPDES permits are also updated to keep up with the latest science and conditions.
Although the goals and agreements SFWMD made in the consent decree have been met, the formula for measuring water quality in "Appendix A" of the decree has long since become outdated. The decree now creates a barrier that will prevent SFWMD from completing major restoration projects or sending more water south. With the major obstacle posed by Appendix A, SFWMD's Governing Board during its monthly meeting directed its general counsel to file a motion in federal court seeking to vacate the consent decree, so that the District can continue to send more clean water south.
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