Everglades Restoration Plan Announced, ‘Blue Shanty Way Flow Project’

MIAMI — Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the groundbreaking for an Everglades restoration project.

Called the Blue Shanty Flow Way project, its goal is to remove 10 miles of berm on the Tamiami Trail to allow for increased water flow. The goal is to naturalize the water flow from the Central Everglades, Everglades National Park, and eventually to Florida Bay.

Initially planned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, it is the first to be taken over by the state of Florida, which will be responsible for building the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) Reservoir. Ultimately, the reservoir will help restore the River of Grass by allowing better water flow.

Part of the $26 billion Central Everglades Planning Project (CEPP), this phase is the next part of the world’s largest ecological restoration project. It is estimated to take 50 years to complete.

DeSantis signed a memorandum of agreement to formalize the transfer from the U.S. Department of the Army to the state of Florida in July. The aim was to “empower the state of Florida to execute the design, construction, management and delivery of federal projects under the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP), the largest hydrologic restoration project in American history.”

The construction of the EAA Reservoir is projected to move from 2034 to 2029 with the signing of the memorandum and delegation of certain aspects to the state of Florida.

Specifically, it allocated responsibility to the state to build the inflow and outflow pump stations as well as other features, such as the berm removal. The Army will continue to construct the main reservoir basin.

The EAA reservoir is planned to be 240,000 acre-feet and have a  stormwater treatment center of 6,500 acre-feet, which will deliver between 270 to 450 billion gallons of clean water to both the Everglades and Biscayne Aquifer. This will help replenish fresh water in the dry season as well as fill reserves of the Biscayne Aquifer drinking water supply, which is the primary source of drinking water for about 5 million people in South Florida.