EDITORIAL: It's good to see DeSantis go back to being Florida's 'environmental governor'
Jan. 3—Twenty years after creation of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, evidence is building that the ambitious effort will succeed. Consider two recent developments:
Gov.
With his comment, DeSantis perhaps headed off any attempt by Simpson to cancel the project. Since the
Other good news came from
In addition, the new Water Resources Development Act authorizes key projects in
'Tremendous progress'
"We have made tremendous progress and are now starting to see tangible benefits," Wraithmell told the Sun Sentinel Editorial Board. "We can keep the momentum by continuing to demonstrate results."
Though
Only about half of the original
The natural flow has been upended by decades of water policy that prioritized development, flood control and agriculture, not water quality and the environment.
North of the lake, for example, at the state's request, the
Similarly, south of the lake, a network of canals diverted water to create the 700,000-acre Everglades Agricultural Area and to drain land for modern
Drinking water at risk
But the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, authorized by
As seas get higher, public drinking wells are at risk from saltwater intrusion. Keeping
"
The economic significance doesn't stop there. Maintaining the proper amount and levels of water in
But for many years, the
Raising the roadway
The restoration plan includes raising more miles of roadway to allow more water to reach the bay. DeSantis has said this bridge project, which could be complete in 2024, will mean up to 80 billion more gallons of water each year for
"We didn't get ourselves into this situation overnight," Wraithmell said, "and we're not going to get ourselves out of it overnight." What's happening now has taken "decades of hard work."
Improvements are happening throughout the system. A western reservoir to store water and reduce damaging discharges from the lake to the
Resistance won't end. The state's sugar growers opposed the southern reservoir, which the Legislature approved in 2017, and forced it to be far smaller than envisioned. And after lobbying from the agriculture industry, the Legislature has twice delayed imposition of tough, final standards to clean farm runoff before it enters
Another ongoing battle involves the
Farmers, coastal towns and
DeSantis, though, broke with the agriculture-friendly policies of
"
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