Large reservoir planned to help Everglades
Farms, homes have reduced wetlands by more than half
The earth-moving equipment and high explosives are laying the foundation for a mammoth construction project: a reservoir bigger than Manhattan designed to revive the ecosystem of the once-famed River of Grass.
More than a century after the first homes and farms took shape in the Everglades, decades of flood-control projects have left the region parched and near ecological collapse. Now crews are building what will be the world's largest aboveground man-made reservoir to restore some natural water flow to the wetlands.
Engineers "built this thing beautifully," said Terrence Salt of the U.S. Interior Department, referring to the flood-control systems that practically drained the swamp to make way for development decades ago. "But as we look back at it through the lens of our current 21st-century values and understanding, you get a different take on it, which leads to our restoration efforts now."
The wetlands once covered more than 6,250 square miles, but they have shrunk by half, replaced with homes and farms and a 2,000-mile grid of drainage canals. In the process, the Everglades has lost 90 percent of its wading birds. Other creatures are at risk, too, including 68 species that are considered threatened or endangered.
Most man-made reservoirs are built in canyons or valleys and use a natural water source such as a river to fill in behind a dam. This one will stand on its own, contained within earth-and-concrete walls much like an aboveground swimming pool larger than many cities. Planners hope to eventually double its size.
Thomas Van Lent, a senior scientist with the Everglades Foundation, said the reservoir "is absolutely essential" to restoration efforts. But he acknowledges it will never return the region to its historical grandeur.
"There are parts you can restore completely, but you can't restore it all," he said. "It's probably unrealistic to expect Miami to move."
The Army Corps of Engineers, which is working with the state on restoration, recognizes the same limits.
"We're certainly never going to return it to the way it was 150 years ago," said the Corps' Stuart Appelbaum. "But we can do our best."
Water once flowed practically unhindered from the Everglades headwaters south of Orlando all the way into Florida Bay at the state's southern tip. But now when a hard rain falls, canals direct the overflow into the ocean to keep from inundating 5 million people who have settled in the area.
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