Progress Toward Restoring the Everglades The Eighth Biennial Review - 2020 (2021) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
3 Restoration Progress
3 Restoration Progress
Pages 39-110
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 39... ...
, which authorized Indian River LagoonSouth, Picayune Strand Restoration, and the Site 1 Impoundment projects; 39
|
From page 40... ...
, which authorized four additional projects (C-43 Reservoir, C-111 Spreader Canal [Western] , Biscayne Bay Coastal Wetlands [Phase 1]
|
From page 41... ...
. State CERP funding in FY 2020 reached nearly $373 million and has exceeded $200 million in each of the past 4 fiscal years, consistent with the original CERP vision and more than doubling CERP funding levels compared to the previous 5 fiscal years.
|
From page 42... ...
Project Scheduling and Prioritization The anticipated future progress of CERP projects and the relationships among all the federally funded South Florida ecosystem restoration projects and some highly relevant, state-funded projects are depicted in the Integrated Delivery Schedule (IDS)
|
From page 43... ...
First, it is difficult to discern individual project costs or essential dependencies among projects. Second, the IDS does not include the full set of anticipated CERP projects in the schedule -- only project components scheduled through 2030 -- potentially providing a false impression of when the CERP will be completed.1 Third, although the Programmatic Regulations require RECOVER to assess any changes in the master schedule "for effects on achieving the goals and purposes of the Plan and the interim goals and targets," this is not being done.
|
From page 44... ...
4) Congress, 2004 WRDA 2007 - C-44 Reservoir/STA 2007 2021 Ongoing None to date - C-23/24 Reservoirs/STA 2010 2030 Not begun NA - C-25 Reservoir/STA 2010 2030 Not begun NA - Natural Lands NA Not specified Not begun NA Melaleuca Eradication and Other 2011 NA Final June 2010 Programmatic Construction Increased Exotic Plants authority completed capacity for (Fig.
|
From page 45... ...
6) Congress, 2012 WRRDA 2014 complete; insufficient to S-198 assess response structure to project not yet constructed Biscayne Bay Coastal Wetlands 2018 2024 Submitted to Authorized in Ongoing Some wetland (Phase 1)
|
From page 46... ...
REMAINING UNPLANNED CERP PROJECTS WCA Decompartmentalization (Phase 2) 2019 NA NA NA NA NA Everglades National Park Seepage 2013 NA NA NA Partly addressed NA Management by LPA Seepage Management Project C-43 ASR 2012 NA NA NA NA NA Site 1 Impoundment ASR 2014 NA NA NA NA NA Palm Beach Agricultural Reserve 2013 NA NA NA NA NA Reservoir Central Lake Belt Storage Area 2021-2036 NA NA NA NA NA WCA-2B Flows to Everglades National 2018 NA NA NA NA NA Park
|
From page 47... ...
Remaining unplanned CERP projects include all projects more than $5 million (2014 dollars) as reported in USACE and DOI (2016)
|
From page 48... ...
48 Progress Toward Restoring the Everglades FIGURE 3-3 Locations and status of CERP projects and pilot projects. SOURCE: International Mapping Associates.
|
From page 49... ...
If, in fact, optimal project prioritization is time dependent, then the 2019 IDS is misleading and inconsistent with the assertion that "the IDS synchronizes program and project priorities with the State of Florida and achieves the CERP restoration objectives at the earliest practicable time, consistent with funding constraints and the interdependencies between project components" (italics added)
|
From page 50... ...
These projects include the C-111 Spreader Canal (Western) Project, Picayune Strand Restoration Project, the Melaleuca Eradication Project, and the Site 1 Impoundment.
|
From page 51... ...
The C-111 Spreader Canal Western Project, working in concert with the non-CERP C-111 South Dade Project and the SFWMD Florida Bay Initiative to the north, was designed to retain water in Taylor Slough and improve the quantity, distribution, and timing of flow into eastern Florida Bay (USACE and SFWMD, 2011a)
|
From page 52... ...
. Planning for the second project, the C-111 Spreader Canal Eastern Project, began in mid-2020 as part of the Biscayne Bay-Southern Everglades Ecosystem Restoration (BBSEER)
|
From page 53... ...
Vertical lines indicate the start of water diversion operations in the C-111 Spreader Canal Western Project in 2012. Increases in Chara cover and reduced salinities are coincident with initiation of the C-111 Spreader Canal Project.
|
From page 54... ...
. The primary objective of the Picayune Strand Restoration Project is to "estab lish the pre-development hydrologic regime, including wet and dry season water levels, overland sheet flow, and hydroperiod" (RECOVER, 2014)
|
From page 55... ...
Restoration Progress 55 FIGURE 3-6 The Picayune Strand Restoration Project area is surrounded by several other natural areas, including Collier-Seminole State Park, Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge, Picayune Strand State Forest, Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park, and Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge. Restoration of water levels within the project footprint will enhance the hydrologic conditions in these surrounding natural areas.
|
From page 56... ...
Other Project Phase Status Tamiami Trail Culverts State NA NA 17 culverts constructed Completed in 2007 Prairie Canal Phase State 64 30 7 Hydrologic restoration of 11,000 Plugging and road removal (expedited) acres in Picayune Strand and 9,000 completed in 2007; logging acres in Fakahatchee Strand State trams removed in 2012 Preserve Park Merritt Canal Phase Federal 65 16 8.5 Merritt pump station, spreader Completed in 2015; pump basin, and tie-back levee station transferred to SFWMD constructed in 2016 Faka Union Canal Phase Federal 81 11 7.6 Faka Union pump station, Roads removed in 2013; pump spreader basin, and tie-back levee station completed in 2017; constructed upper 3 miles canal plugging scheduled for 2021.
|
From page 57... ...
Restoration Progress 57 FIGURE 3-7 Schematic illustration of hydrologic restoration at Picayune Strand with locations of vegetation monitoring transects and monitoring wells for the 2016 sampling event. SOURCE: Chuirazzi et al., 2018.
|
From page 58... ...
. Since construction has begun, ecological monitoring has been focused on areas with full or partial hydrologic restoration, utilizing reference sites in neighboring Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park and Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge (Barry et al., 2017, 2019; Worley et al., 2017)
|
From page 59... ...
. Hydroperiod targets are available for primary plant communities, and it is expected that Picayune Strand restoration will increase hydroperiods in these communities.
|
From page 60... ...
hydroperiods for hydric flatwood and wet prairie communities (although recent data suggest the targets were not met in the southern region) (Figure 3-9)
|
From page 61... ...
The cabbage palm is the key invasive species because drainage created conditions that enabled it to establish, and restoration of hydrology will not eliminate it. Increased inundation in wet prairie habitat may be responsible for reductions in the invasive Brazilian pepper density in one transect and favorable changes in wetland species in another transect.
|
From page 62... ...
. Invasive species continue to be a problem in Picayune Strand, and there is an ongoing effort to map the extent of invasive species and control their expan sion (Barry et al., 2017)
|
From page 63... ...
Woody plants such as Brazilian pepper and cabbage palm continue to be problematic. The aquatic fauna monitoring data provide striking evidence of the challenges from invasive species on understanding ecological responses to restoration.
|
From page 64... ...
If other sources of variability, such as invasive species, are so large that monitoring no longer provides meaningful information about restoration progress, some components of the ecological monitoring plan may need to be eliminated.
|
From page 65... ...
Cabbage palm, which was established when Picayune Strand was drained, is a key invasive species in the area and neither simple fire nor hydrologic restoration will eliminate it. The adaptive management plan (USACE, 2014)
|
From page 66... ...
There is a great opportunity to revise and implement a monitoring plan that can be used for improving manage ment actions rather than simply documenting changes in the Picayune Strand Restoration Project. Although there is a comprehensive adaptive management plan for the project (USACE, 2014)
|
From page 67... ...
Achieving satisfactory results requires the use of hydrologic restoration combined with fire management and invasive species control as critical components of the CERP project strategy. Melaleuca Eradication and Other Exotic Plants The Melaleuca Eradication and Other Exotic Plants Project is a CERP effort to address the potential threat to restoration posed by non-native invasive plant species by mass rearing and releasing biological control agents.
|
From page 68... ...
. With successful results from melaleuca biocontrol, the CERP mass rearing effort is now focused on biocontrol agents for Old World climbing fern, Brazilian pepper, and water hyacinth.
|
From page 69... ...
The S-333N spillway will increase the total capacity of the S-333 from 1,350 to 2,500 cubic feet per second (cfs) , thereby helping to reduce high water levels in WCA-3A by moving higher flows to Everglades National Park during the wet season.4 The CEPP South Project Partnership Agreement was executed in July 2020.
|
From page 70... ...
Chapter 4 describes the benefits expected from the Combined Operating Plan for the Modified Water Deliveries Project to Ever glades National Park and the C-111 South Dade Projects, designed to restore flow to Northeast Shark River Slough. Everglades Water Quality Treatment Achieving water quality goals -- specifically total phosphorus concentrations in the STA discharges south of Lake Okeechobee -- is critical to progress in mak ing additional water available to the remnant Everglades (see Chapter 2)
|
From page 71... ...
Restoration Strategies is expected to be fully constructed and operational by 2025, after which EPA will begin the process to assess compliance. Progress on Restoration Strategies project implementation is described in Table 3-5.
|
From page 72... ...
. Overall, the total phosphorus removal effectiveness has been good, but effluent concen trations in most STAs remain far from the water quality targets.
|
From page 73... ...
. Despite recent elevated phosphorus concentrations in several STAs, interior sites of the Everglades Protection Area remain in compliance with the total phosphorus criterion (Julian et al., 2020)
|
From page 74... ...
As the period of record for the A-1 FEB is extended and the other STA enhancements come online, a quantitative analysis of the factors influencing STA removal efficiencies, as suggested in the 2018 Science Plan, would be critical to help guide future STA improvements toward meeting the WQBEL and redistributing flows in CEPP. FIGURE 3-14 Model-predicted pools of total phosphorus (TP)
|
From page 75... ...
or cells could be maintained periodically to remove accumulated phosphorus. Central and Western Everglades: CERP Projects in Planning -- Western Everglades One project, the Western Everglades Restoration Project, is currently in planning in the central and western Everglades region.
|
From page 76... ...
CERP agencies aim to complete the project implementation report and submit the Chief's report to Congress for authorization in 2022.5 CERP Projects Affecting the Northern Estuaries Two CERP projects are under construction that directly affect the northern estuaries: the C-43 Reservoir and Indian River Lagoon-South. The impacts of these projects on the condition of the northern estuaries are discussed in more detail in Chapter 5.
|
From page 77... ...
Restoration Progress 77 FIGURE 3-15 The features of WERP Alternative H, including stormwater treatment areas, backfilling canals and levees, and vegetation restoration. SOURCE: Gonzales, 2020.
|
From page 78... ...
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection and SFWMD are cur rently conducting a feasibility study to examine water quality treatment options for water leaving the C-43 Reservoir. Water quality treatment is being considered because of the potential for the stored water containing elevated nutrient levels to support the growth of algae in the reservoir and seed harmful algal blooms in the Caloosahatchee River Estuary.
|
From page 79... ...
. The Loxahatchee River Watershed Restoration Project (Figure 3-3, No.
|
From page 80... ...
Together the components of the project are expected to deliver 98 percent of the wet season restoration flow target and 91 percent of the dry season resto ration flow target in the Northwest Fork of the Loxahatchee River (USACE and SFWMD, 2020a)
|
From page 81... ...
. In terms of water quantity, the ongoing revision of the Lake Okeechobee System Operating Manual, a non-CERP effort, has the potential to substantially change these volumes and TABLE 3-6 Partial List of Management Initiatives, Responsible Agency, and Intended Purpose Affecting the Northern Estuaries Program or Initiative Responsible Agency Intended Purpose, Related to Estuaries Central Everglades Restoration USACE and SFWMD Improve the ecological and input flow Plan conditions of the estuaries Implement Clean Water Act Florida Department Protect water quality and designated uses in Florida, including National of Environmental of Florida surface waters, including estuaries, Pollutant Discharge Elimination Protection (FDEP)
|
From page 82... ...
, FDEP, FDACS and coordinated state restoration efforts in these basins and in the Lake Okeechobee watershed Dispersed Water Management SFWMD Provide water storage and nutrient removal north of Lake Okeechobee Lake Okeechobee Watershed SFWMD Improve quality to achieve the TMDL for Lake Construction Project Okeechobee and thereby improve the quality of water discharged to the northern Everglades ecosystem Minimum Flows and Minimum SFWMD and other Establish flows for rivers, streams, and estuaries Water Levels regional Water and levels for lakes, wetlands, and aquifers Management Districts below which further withdrawals would be significantly harmful to the water resources or ecology of the area Climate Change Resilience Efforts USACE, FDEP, SFWMD, Strengthen planning efforts for climate change counties, cities adaptation and mitigation, which includes planning for sea-level rise and changes to coastal features Coastal Zone Management EPA, National Oceanic Plan coastal development in order to protect Planning pursuant to the federal and Atmospheric key natural features while still allowing Coastal Zone Management Act Administration, FDEP multiple uses along the coast, including energy development, recreation, and fisheries National Estuary Program (NEP) EPA, FDEP, local partners Protect and restore estuaries of national in Florida -- Coastal and Heartland significance National Estuary Partnership; Indian River Lagoon NEP; Sarasota NEP; Tampa Bay NEP
|
From page 83... ...
While it is a federal statute, Congress always left certain parts of water quality law -- e.g., water quality standards, non-point-source pollution control -- to the states, and, in addition, Congress designed the Clean Water Act so that states could assume permitting authority. Like most states, Florida sought and received delegated authority from the U.S.
|
From page 84... ...
84 Progress Toward Restoring the Everglades BOX 3-1 Continued FIGURE 3-1-1 Florida's implementation of the Clean Water Act in southern Florida. The watershed-specific TMDLs typically address fecal coliform, nutrients, or both, although some address dissolved oxygen.
|
From page 85... ...
Water Quantity: Lake Okeechobee System Operating Manual In 1930, Congress authorized the Herbert Hoover Dike, which now encircles most of Lake Okeechobee with 143 miles of embankment, five inlets/outlets, nine navigation locks, and nine pump stations. The capacity of water to flow into the lake greatly exceeds the capacity to flow out, and after large rain events, runoff can result in a rapid increase in lake level.
|
From page 86... ...
The upcoming Lake Okeechobee Regulation Schedule revision (anticipated in December 2022) will provide an opportunity to evaluate the feasibility and the benefits and risks of allowing higher or lower water levels in the lake once the Herbert Hoover Dike repairs are complete to recapture some water storage, potentially benefiting the northern estuaries and the remnant Everglades eco system.
|
From page 87... ...
tions for the CERP and its plans to move more Lake Okeechobee water south into the remnant Everglades, because higher total phosphorus concentrations could challenge the capacity of STA infrastructure to meet the water quality discharge standards. Evidence from prior studies in Lake Okeechobee (Aldridge et al., 1995; Phlips and Ihnat, 1995)
|
From page 88... ...
This TMDL was a 68 percent reduction in total phosphorus loading for the period of record at the time the TMDL was developed. Annual phosphorus loading in recent years has been at least three times the TMDL (Figure 3-19c)
|
From page 89... ...
annual loadings of total nitrogen, and (c) annual loadings of total phosphorus from contributing areas to St.
|
From page 90... ...
annual loadings of total nitrogen, and (c) annual loadings of total phosphorus from contributing areas to Caloosahatchee River Estuary.
|
From page 91... ...
. Thus, meeting estuarine water quality goals will require substantial nutrient reductions from local watersheds in addition to reduction of loading from Lake Okeechobee.
|
From page 92... ...
CERP Projects in Planning in the Northern Estuaries: Lake Okeechobee Watershed Restoration Project One project with impacts for the northern estuaries is in the late stages of plan ning as of December 2020 -- the Lake Okeechobee Watershed Restoration Project (LOWRP)
|
From page 93... ...
SOURCE: USACE and SFWMD, 2020d. The major project components in the final recommended plan include • A shallow wetland attenuation feature with a storage volume of approximately 46,000 AF; • 80 ASR wells with a total storage volume of approximately 448,000 AF per year; and • Two wetland restoration sites, encompassing 4,800 acres (Figure 3-22)
|
From page 94... ...
, so greater than 90 percent of the storage in the LOWRP will be provided by 80 ASR wells completed within the Upper Floridan Aquifer and the deeper Avon Park Permeable Zone. Fifty-five ASR wells will be grouped in several clusters that are distributed along various tributaries of the Lake Okeechobee watershed, while the remaining 25 ASR wells will be grouped into three clusters that are co-located with the wetland attenuation feature.
|
From page 95... ...
This section focuses on the documented restoration benefits of the CERP Biscayne Bay Coastal Wetlands Project, with a brief discussion of non-CERP efforts and the recently launched Biscayne Bay and Southeastern Everglades Ecosystem Restoration planning effort. CERP Projects: Biscayne Bay Coastal Wetlands (Phase 1)
|
From page 96... ...
From August 2018 to mid-2020, the SFWMD operated a 40-cfs interim pump to increase water levels in the L-31E Canal to the optimal level of 2.2 feet National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 (NGVD29) in order to increase water flow through the culverts to coastal wet lands east of the L-31E levee.
|
From page 97... ...
, which is beginning in summer FIGURE 3-24 The Deering Estate footprint of the Biscayne Bay Coastal Wetlands Project. SOURCE: Charkhian, 2020.
|
From page 98... ...
Deering Estate. The S-700 pump station on the C-100A spur canal within the Deering Estate is designed to restore historic freshwater flows through the Cutler Drain Slough and into the coastal wetlands, reducing nearshore salinity.
|
From page 99... ...
Restoration Progress 99 FIGURE 3-25 The L-31E Component of the Biscayne Bay Coastal Wetlands Project. SOURCE: Charkhian, 2020.
|
From page 100... ...
One additional non-CERP effort to evaluate the benefits of a seepage barrier on the eastern boundary of Everglades National Park is just begin ning a public planning process, and is too early in its planning process to evaluate. CERP Projects in Planning: Biscayne Bay and Southeastern Everglades Ecosystem Restoration In September 2020, a 3-year planning process was launched for the large, multicomponent project BBSEER (USACE and SFWMD, 2020b)
|
From page 101... ...
includes an Everglades Report Card; a stand-alone summary report of the status of the Everglades from 2012 to 2017 using ecosystem indicators and performance measures of the CERP. The Report Card uses clear and easy-to-understand graphics to describe the status of each of five reporting units including the entire Everglades system and its four geographic subregions: the northern estuaries, Lake Okeechobee, FIGURE 3-26 Overall score for the Everglades in the 2019 Report Card, which is calculated from regional scores ranging from "fair" to "poor." SOURCE: RECOVER, 2019.
|
From page 102... ...
Lake Okeechobee, (c) the greater Everglades, and (d)
|
From page 103... ...
The ridge and slough landscape is acknowledged to be severely degraded over much of its extent, and is considered "fair." Tree islands are also severely degraded by impacts of high water levels, drought, fire, and invasive species, but only four tree islands were used to estimate their overall status, which resulted in the unexpectedly high score of "good." A larger sample size would reflect tree island condition more accurately. The anticipated changes in hydrology due to the Combined Operational Plan (COP; see Chapter 4)
|
From page 104... ...
The SSR goes on to say that "the Florida Everglades is struggling to survive in the face of sustained pressure from human activities and the increasing impacts of climate change." The poor to fair scores for the subregions indicate that the "anticipated ecological benefits of restoration are still to be realized." Although CERP project components implemented to date -- Picayune Strand, C-111 Spreader Canal, and Biscayne Bay Coastal Wetlands -- are beginning to deliver ecological benefits, they are relatively small in scale (compared to other pending CERP projects) and geographically disconnected, limiting the ability to detect benefits at a system wide scale.
|
From page 105... ...
As increasingly more CERP and non-CERP projects are constructed and operated, CERP decision makers would benefit from analyses of long-term trends in monitoring data and more sophisticated analysis of multiple factors on system responses relative to restoration goals. There will be an increased need for information on the integrated system response so that decision makers and the public can understand
|
From page 106... ...
With this increased funding, CERP projects can be completed more quickly, resulting in faster restoration benefits and potentially mitigating ongoing ecosystem degradation. The 2019 Integrated Delivery Schedule (IDS)
|
From page 107... ...
Signs of restoration progress are evident from three CERP project increments operating to date, but limitations in monitoring, analysis, and communication of results have impeded quantitative assessment and communication of restoration benefits. Increments of the Picayune Strand and Biscayne Bay Coastal Wetlands (Phase 1)
|
From page 108... ...
However, intensive efforts now to analyze and optimize performance and address shortfalls could help avoid delays in meeting the water quality criteria and delivering new water from the CEPP. With heightened concerns about elevated nutrient load ing and harmful algal blooms in the northern estuaries, the state is increasingly interested in water quality management of contaminants beyond phosphorus, especially for nitrogen.
|
From page 109... ...
provides a useful compilation of data, but the lack of reporting of long-term trends and influencing factors limits its value to adaptive management and operational decision making. In the 2019 SSR, RECOVER compiles and presents a substantial amount of data to document the status and trends of the Everglades restoration for the period 2012-2017.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.