It was a seminal moment. Environmentalists and farmers, in agreement on measures that can and should be taken to restore the land.

That moment came at a groundbreaking  in Glades County's Moore Haven this week for the Lake Hicpochee Project, the expansion of an important water storage and water quality control project.

The groundbreaking event in what had once been a natural marsh but turned farmland, marks the 79th major milestone groundbreaking for an Everglades restoration project  in six years.

These projects aim to try to resolve past mistakes in the Everglades and restore the River of Grass while still using parts of it for agriculture. 
 
The project is now in Phase 2. It is part of the Northern Everglades and Estuaries Protection Program. It's intended to reduce harmful discharges to the Caloosahatchee Estuary.

Lake Hicpochee shrunk to 25 percent of its initial size when the lake was divided by a canal in the 1800s. Drainage of the Everglades made farming in Florida possible and helped create some cities.  

Considered progress at the time, it has resulted toxic algae blooms and dreadful conditions for Lake Okeechobee and the surrounding estuaries.
  
Audubon Society’s Paul Gray joined farmers, the officials from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the South Florida Water Management District, elected leaders and/or their representatives at the groundbreaking.

Gray made the comment about how rare it was in Florida for an environmentalist to agree with farmers.

"We're all familiar with the Okeechobee watershed. It drains into the lake so fast it gets deep and it harms the lake, and then we dump the water down the estuaries and harms the estuaries," he said.  
 
The result of the Lake Hicpochee Project is expected to blunt that, he said.

"When it rains here in the future, we’re going to store that water. It's not going to glut downstream and cause problems," he said. "And then when the dry season starts, we're going to have water left over to work with for our farms and for our cities and for our wildlife."

Ben Butler, a governing board member of South Florida Water Management District, praised all who are making this restoration project possible.

“I grew up in Florida and the community here is very important to me. I am very invested in the future of our heartland, the future of our children and grandchildren, and I want them to be able to enjoy South Florida like I do,” Butler said. “We live, work and recreate here, so investing in our environment and water management infrastructure is vital to maintaining our quality of life in the State of Florida.

"Under the leadership of Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida Legislature, we continue to have historic progress and momentum to conserve our natural resources and protect our waterways. I also greatly appreciate our hard-working staff at the [South Florida Water Management] District who routinely advance important projects that support our mission.”

The South Florida Water Management District completed the first phase of the Lake Hicpochee Project in 2021. This project provided water storage and increased capacity for water quality improvements in the Caloosahatchee basin. It also improved the timing and the volume of water deliveries to the Caloosahatchee River.

The second phase of the Lake Hicpochee Project builds on Phase I and includes:

• Construction of an additional 2,200-acre flow equalization basin
• Construction of a new pump station with three 75-cubic-feet-per-second pumps
• Construction of two new water control structures
• Increased water storage capacity to 9,300 acre-feet

The expansion is expected to be completed in 2028.

“The expansion of this project is critical because it improves water quality and expands water storage in the Greater Everglades Ecosystem,” said Adam Blalock, Florida Department of Environmental Protection deputy secretary for ecosystem restoration. “The State of Florida continues to make record investments to protect our natural resources and preserve our way of life."

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