I spent 2002 and 2003 working on the Corps of Engineers' ambitious Everglades
Restoration Project, as a Construction Representative at Pump Station 362.
It's part of a massive effort to improve the chemical characteristics of the
stormwater inflow to the Everglades from the Loxahatchee area. The following
are some thoughts on the Everglades and some pics of the wildlife that shared
my workspace while I was there.
The Everglades
Since rising from the prehistoric Atlantic Ocean in the Miocene epoch (25 MYA),
the drainage of fresh surface water has typically been towards the magnificent
Lake Okeechobee and southwest through the estuarine Everglades to the Gulf of
Mexico. There, the boundary between land and sea is evanescent, and the
mineral-poor waters of the Everglades nurture grass species and the animal life
that has come to depend on it.
That drainage pattern was irrecoverably altered a century ago when American
settlers began to develop and farm southern Florida. The annual flood cycle
became a nuisance and a human hazard; that was made clear in 1926 and 1928,
when hurricanes caused Lake Okeechobee to rise and overflow its banks, drowning
hundreds and occasioning millions of dollars in damage. The settlers called
upon the American government to do something about it. President Herbert
Hoover responded. The government channelized much of the flow through canals
that led the fresh water out to sea, drying up the land for production of
oranges and sugar cane, and allowing further settlement and development of the
now densely populated south Florida.
But the Everglades paid the price of human development. Deprived of its normal
inflow of freshwater and inundated instead with nitrogen- and phosphorus-laden
discharge, the plant composition of the Everglades changed as non-native
species crowded out the indigenous plantlife. The change in flora induced a
subsequent change in wildlife species.
It became a national priority to restore the Everglades to their former
splendor, which was no small challenge in light of the agricultural and human
settlements that had been established in reclaimed Everglades lands. How to
restore the wild areas without swamping the residents and ruining industry?
Enter the CERP, the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Program. It's a 30
billion dollar project, whose costs are shared between the federal government
and the state of Florida. It has 68 major components and over 40 individual
projects, to be completed over the course of 30 years. Nothing this vast has
ever been attempted. The Corps of Engineers plays a principal role in the
CERP. In brief, the CERP intends to strike a delicate compromise between the
human communities living on reclaimed land, and the Everglades, redirecting
freshwater to the Everglades to the greatest extent possible. The result is
less freshwater pollutant in the bays, and more nutrient-poor water for the
Everglades. That requires a massive investment in infrastructure to
channelize, treat, and redirect the fresh water.
I spent 2002 and 2003 working on the Corps of Engineers' ambitious Everglades
Restoration Project, as a Construction Representative at Pump Station 362.
It's part of a massive effort to improve the chemical characteristics of the
stormwater inflow to the Everglades from the Loxahatchee area. Water enters by
means of a pump station similar to this one, where it flows through broad flat
treatment cells in which specific aquatic plant species are growing and
absorbing nitrogen, phosphorus, and other nutrients. The water, now clean and
largely sediment-free, exits through PS 362 where it is pumped into the
Loxahatchee Wildlife Refuge.
There are two benefits to South Florida's ecosystem. The fresh water is no
longer pumped out to the Intracoastal Waterway, where it's largely considered a
pollutant to a saltwater ecosystem. Instead it's channeled back into the upper
part of what was once the Everglades.
All that benevolence doesn't come cheaply. PS 362 and its twin were built at
around $20M each, and the total cost of the project exceeds $50M. Is it worth
it? I think so. South Florida's unrestrained development means the open space
and ecological health of the Everglades provide a little breathing room for
everyone.
Everglades Wildlife
Florida's greatest treasure is the Everglades National Park. But many of
Florida's more visible fauna could be found in our own backyard.
A walking catfish (Clarius batrachus), a species of catfish that can cross
small dry spaces between pools of water via a series of artful flops
Two small alligators (Alligator mississippiensis), basking in the sun not 100
meters from my office
An otter munching on crayfish
The so-called "alligator turtle."
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External Links
http://www.sfwmd.gov South Florida Water Management District
http://www.evergladesplan.org The Everglades Restoration Program
http://www.saj.usace.army.mil The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District
http://www.moderncontinental.com Modern Continental South, Inc.
Note
This is my personal recollection of the time I spent in Florida and the
work I was involved in while living there. This page in no way
represents the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Modern Continental, or the
South Florida Water Management District.
Thanks to Paula Huckaby, Safety Officer for Modern Continental for
the images of Everglades wildlife.
Postscript, 2014: This USACE document [PDF] gives a two page overview of how
the pump station fits into the larger system.
http://www.sfrestore.org/documents/2012_IFP/1513.pdf
Page two of this glorious report</a> has a lovely picture of the pump station
in action. Gorgeous.
