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Feb. 12, 2018
SFWMD Governing Board Speeds Up Environmental Benefits of C-44 Reservoir in Martin County
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| The SFWMD Governing Board approved purchasing pumps necessary for the C-44 Stormwater Treatment Area in Martin County to start growing vegetation and treating water as soon as it is completed later this year while the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers continues its work on the associated reservoir. Click on the image to watch a video about the C-44 Reservoir and Stormwater Treatment Area. |
West Palm Beach, FL - Last week, the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) Governing Board approved purchasing pumps to help realize environmental benefits for the St. Lucie Estuary more than two years before the C-44 Reservoir is set to be completed.
The Governing Board unanimously voted to spend $1.2 million to buy four 42-inch pumps that will send water to the C-44 Stormwater Treatment Area (STA). This water allows vegetation, necessary for the STA to naturally clean excess nutrients such as phosphorus from that water, to initially establish. Without these pumps, SFWMD would have had to wait until the reservoir is completed to start growing wetland plants capable of treating water.
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Location of the C-44 Reservoir and Stormwater Treatment Area in Martin County. Click on the image for a larger version. |
"This is the kind of innovative thinking and implementation that the St. Lucie Estuary needs for its protection," said SFWMD Governing Board member and Martin County resident Brandon Tucker. "This Board is an action Board. We relish the opportunity to advance environmental restoration and realize benefits sooner."
SFWMD is expected to complete the STA and pump station components of the project in September, which will treat local stormwater runoff from the C-44 basin and discharge it back to the C-44 Canal. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is building the associated reservoir expected to be able to store 50,000 acre-feet of local basin runoff, is scheduled to complete its work by 2020.
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The South Florida Water Management District is a regional governmental agency that manages the water resources in the southern part of the state. It is the oldest and largest of the state's five water management districts. Our mission is to protect South Florida's water resources by balancing and improving flood control, water supply, water quality and natural systems.
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