South Florida Water Management District completed construction on the C-139 Flow Equalization Basin Project in Hendry County, marking the end of the construction phase of the Everglades Restoration Strategies Project.
Restoration Strategies was inked in 2012 after the state of Florida and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reached a consensus on new strategies for restoring water quality in the Everglades.
Restoration Strategies includes 13 projects, more than 6,000 acres of constructed wetlands and more than 115,000 acre-feet of water storage. The storage areas capture runoff during storm events and provide a steadier flow of water to the stormwater treatment areas, helping to maintain the plants and improve the treatment performance of the STAs, district officials said.
The C-139 Flow Equalization Basin Project is an 11,000-acre-foot shallow reservoir that stores local basin runoff from the C-139 Basin and controls water flow to the adjacent STA 5/6. This project helps improve the performance of STA 5/6, removing nutrients from stormwater and improving water quality before it flows south to the Everglades.
