Two projects to improve the quality, quantity and distribution of water in the Everglades National Park in Florida—the construction of a reservoir and the raising of a portion of the Tamiami Trail—moved forward in June.

The Everglades National Park announced on June 3 that with the assistance of a federal grant it will lift portions of U.S. Route 41 in the Everglades that have impeded the flow of freshwater from the north into the vast wetland for 91 years. The next day, the South Florida Water Management District moved to begin clearing land for the construction of a 240,000-acre-ft reservoir in the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA).

环保团体正在欢呼新闻，因为这些项目的完成将改善大沼泽地的淡水流量，并开始补充烧焦的生态系统。新利18备用网址

Broad, shallow “sheetflow” of water from periodic overflows of Lake Okeechobee created the Everglades. Until the mid-20th century, a focus on flood control led engineers to drain the marsh land and control the lake’s level by discharging its water through the Caloosahatchee River and the St. Lucie Canal. Since about 1970, better understanding of the hydrology has prompted efforts to restore the ecosystem.

该水库通过缓解三个水体的污染来帮助恢复：Caloosahatchee和St. Lucie Estuaries和Florida Bay。

“我们将没有将水扔掉，而是将其中的一些捕获在水库中，我们将把水南向南重新定向，以再放水化了Everglades国家公园和佛罗里达湾，” Everglades Audubon Florida政策总监Celeste de Palma说。她说，最终取得如此广泛成功的前景对大沼泽地活动家来说非常令人兴奋。

The EAA Reservoir will store water before releasing it to a 6,500-acre artificial marsh called a stormwater treatment area (STA) for slow, natural cleansing. The cleansed water will flow south through the National Park to Florida Bay.

The total estimated cost of the reservoir and stormwater treatment area is $1.6 billion, with the stormwater treatment area estimated at $150 million, says Matt Morrison, office chief for the water management district.

他说，水库和雨水区的合同将“很可能”分别授予。

The reservoir is in the initial stages of design by the Corps of Engineers, and “the STA is in the design and construction phase for early construction start,” Morrison says. The district is “crashing the schedule” to expedite the construction, he adds.

The reservoir is “scheduled for design over the next two to three years, and something that size would typically take probably four to five years to construct,” Morrison says.

另外，向国家公园的6000万美元联邦赠款将与已经授权筹集的3000万美元的州资金结合在一起，在国家公园北端的Tamiami步道10.6英里处桥梁。路堤堵住了Okeechobee湖的自然表格，该节目创造了大沼泽地生态系统，导致其逐渐下降。合并的资金将允许大沼泽地上的塔米亚米步道（Tamiami Trail）抬高和桥梁。

Everglades restoration “is all about being able to recreate the north-to-south flow of water,” says De Palma. “The main goal in getting there is reconstructing the bottom part of the Everglades by trying to recreate those flows. You need to remove physical barriers to flow. Tamiami Trail has been a physical barrier to flow since it was finished in 1928, so that is a critical first step.”

在2012年至2019年期间，Tamiami步道的两个单独的部分总计约3.6英里。这笔1亿美元的州和联邦资金将在2023年初之前完成桥梁的最终6.7英里高速公路桥梁。官员说。

On June 13, the South Florida Water Management District approved an agreement with Florida Power and Light Co. to relocate power lines on a section of Old Tamiami Trail in Miami-Dade County, district officials said. Once the lines are relocated, the district will move quickly to move and raise the road, Morrison says.