Taking a deep breath

The C-43 Project to Help Restore the Florida Everglades

In an effort to restore the Everglades, the lungs of the southern United States, the state of Florida is investing $2.3 billion and the federal government another $1 billion as part of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan. One of the projects that come under this plan is the C-43. Under development by Webuild, it aims to reduce harmful discharges from residential and agricultural developments into the Caloosahatchee Estuary in the southwest of the peninsula. The reservoir, which will be created by an earth-fill dam with a perimetre of approximately 26.2 kilometres near the Okeechobee Lake, will be able to store nearly 210 million cubic metres. When it rains, the reservoir will capture contaminated water run-offs. When the rains pass, it will maintain a minimum flow of fresh water to the estuary so as to reduce extreme salinity changes.