By Melissa L. Meeker, SFWMD Executive Director

Everglades restoration recently took a significant step forward, as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency concurred with a comprehensive plan — first proposed by Governor Rick Scott last October — that will vastly improve water quality in the famed River of Grass.

This far-reaching strategy to address the concerns of two federal courts includes state-issued Clean Water Act permits and a suite of new water storage and treatment projects. It is a watershed moment in the history of Everglades restoration and welcomed news, as reflected in the outpouring of support across the state. For many, one of the strongest aspects of the plan is that it moves us closer to resolving the decades-long litigation associated with Everglades water quality.

As Executive Director of the South Florida Water Management District, the agency that will construct the water quality improvement projects, I want to highlight key features in this scientifically sound and financially feasible plan that will solve long-standing environmental challenges and ensure we achieve the stringent water quality requirements established for the Everglades.

First, our proposal will invest $880 million to construct state-of-the-art water quality improvement projects without raising taxes. We're going to do this on a realistic schedule, not only because this is cutting-edge work being implemented on a vast scale but also because the District must balance environmental restoration with its other critical missions like providing flood control and ensuring a sustainable supply of water for 7.7 million South Floridians.

Second, the new water quality projects now incorporate for the first time the use of water storage areas to work in tandem with the thousands of acres of existing treatment wetlands, known as stormwater treatment areas. After more than a decade of operating and managing these natural, water quality facilities, we have the science — and the experience — to know that extreme fluctuations in water levels brought on by South Florida's weather extremes often prevent these constructed wetlands from functioning at their best.

By connecting constructed wetlands to these water storage areas (known as flow equalization basins), we will be able to better manage the delivery of water to the treatment facilities even during droughts and storms. Altogether, the District will construct another 6,700 acres of new treatment wetlands and 110,000 acre-feet of water storage south of Lake Okeechobee to ensure that water discharged to the Everglades is cleaner than even rainwater. To provide additional assurance that our water quality goals will be met, we will also implement sub-regional source controls in several key areas where more intensive water quality improvements are needed.

Maximizing taxpayer investments already made in Everglades water quality, we are able to utilize close to 20,000 acres of land already in public ownership. This is not insignificant. Large tracts well-suited for water storage and treatment facilities are readily available for project planning and construction, saving time and taxpayer expense. In addition, we are pursuing mutually beneficial land exchanges with willing partners that will put the finishing touches on plan components in the eastern Everglades. With land in-hand and fewer hurdles to clear, construction can begin in short order — creating jobs and putting major project components on line in just six years.

This practical, science-based approach builds upon Florida's significant progress over the past decade to improve water quality, which was recently recognized by the National Academy of Sciences. With 57,000 acres of treatment wetlands already constructed and cleaning the water flowing into the Everglades, we have treated 4 trillion gallons of water to-date and removed 1,560 metric tons of phosphorus. Improved farming methods, known as best management practices, have been equally successful, preventing more than 2,500 tons of phosphorus from reaching the Everglades.

The key for success of this landmark plan is its broad support. Following months of productive negotiations between the state and federal agencies, there also has been consensus building with environmental groups, the agricultural community, elected officials and other key stakeholders. We still have several more steps to take before project construction can begin, including negotiating some regulatory details and, most importantly, our Governing Board's vote on the final regulatory package, making a decision to commit the District financially, operationally and legally to delivering on the plan.

Now, because of Governor Scott's leadership, we are poised to embark on the final leg of Florida's journey to achieving Everglades water quality standards and providing lasting protection to one of the nation's most unique natural places.

By Melissa L. Meeker, West Palm Beach

Effective strategies used in the early and mid-2000s by the South Florida Water Management District to acquire land for water resource and restoration purposes have come under recent criticism.

For anyone who lived in Florida a decade ago, it's not hard to remember the fast-paced real estate market during that time. As development increased and property values escalated, it made sense for the district to set aside lands ahead of the design and construction of projects associated with long-term restoration programs.

The SFWMD land acquisition program accomplished its goals. From 2000 to 2008, the district put close to 165,000 acres into public ownership for Kissimmee River Restoration, the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan and other water resource purposes.

The $1.6 billion invested in land during those years has brought tangible results. In the restored Kissimmee, for example, we have vastly expanded the river's flood plain, holding more water north of Lake Okeechobee and thereby reducing harmful discharges to coastal estuaries. For the new suite of projects that will send cleaner water to the Everglades, timely implementation would not be possible without needed tracts of land already in public ownership.

With the years of intensive land buying behind us, we are concentrating on strategic acquisitions and putting publicly owned acreage to its best use. Whether constructing on-site projects, exchanging for lands in more critical locations or leveraging our real estate assets, we are focused on targeting resources where they are needed most and implementing restoration work.

The district's policymaking, land acquisitions and surpassing activities have always been carried out under Governing Board direction in accordance with state statutes and as part of an open and public process.

For the past year, we have been reviewing and improving the agency's business, administration and operational practices districtwide. My ongoing goal is to ensure the agency is operating prudently, effectively and efficiently in the best interest of South Florida's water resources and its taxpayers.

Melissa L. Meeker is executive director of the South Florida Water Management District.

As South Florida's regional water management agency, the South Florida Water Management District is responsible for providing flood control, restoring natural systems and ensuring a sustainable water supply for more than 7.7 million residents.

This can be a daunting task. One of the most challenging aspects of water management in South Florida is not the 50-plus inches of rain that falls in our backyards each year. Rather, it is finding a place to store that water for beneficial use during dry times.

South Florida's flat landscape means that when it rains, without storage, water must be discharged through our extensive canal system to the ocean to prevent flooding. To capture this "lost" water and use it to support Everglades restoration and regional water supply needs, the district is working hard to identify and implement storage solutions. These can come in many shapes and sizes, from aboveground reservoirs and deep injection wells to shallow storage on agricultural lands.

A unique geological formation in Palm Beach County is providing us with one of the more creative water storage solutions. The 950-acre L-8 reservoir is a strategically located former rock mine with a watertight geology. A component of Everglades restoration, this deep-ground reservoir will contribute to cleaner water for the Everglades, restoration of the Loxahatchee River and improved water quality in the Lake Worth Lagoon. Along with environmental benefits, it also offers residential advantages such as flood control and supplementing urban water supplies.

Approved in 2002, this first-of-its-kind project provides 15 billion gallons of water storage, enough to fill 24,000 football fields one foot deep in water. And, at an investment of $6,000 per acre-foot, the rock mine saves taxpayers millions of dollars compared to constructing an aboveground reservoir.

Since its acquisition, various criticisms have been leveled at the L-8 reservoir. The fact is that this reservoir is a viable project capable of delivering results and the return on investment we expect to achieve. When I became the district's executive director last June, I prioritized this project to get it operating as promised. Here's the good news: The district has now issued a Request for Qualifications from firms to design and build the massive pump station needed to move water out of the reservoir and deliver it to the natural system. This is a giant leap forward, and it means we are on our way to project completion — and project results.

It's important to note that instead of sitting idle, the L-8 reservoir has provided interim benefits. During the 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons, the reservoir provided much-needed water storage that reduced residential flooding.

In 2007, the City of West Palm Beach utilized more than 600 million gallons of water from the reservoir during the drought. Residents were again able to rely on the L-8 reservoir for their water supply this past summer when the city's water resources ran dangerously low. In 2009, FPL used reservoir water for its cooling system, conserving millions of gallons of groundwater. And, most recently, the district utilized small pumps to send fresh water from the reservoir north to the Loxahatchee River during 2011's dry conditions. This pilot project demonstrated that the L-8 reservoir works.

Nearby to the L-8 project, another rock pit is under construction. Known as the C-51 reservoir, this project is being analyzed by the district and a coalition of utilities as a potential public water supply source. Under the right conditions, the C-51 could potentially store water currently lost to tide and deliver it to recharge wellfields. Similar to the L-8 project, it is a viable concept that could be utilized to effectively meet future water supply demands and improve the Lake Worth Lagoon. While the challenges are in the details, the project deserves a thorough evaluation and our continued dialogue.

Balancing the district's missions of flood control, water supply and restoration often requires innovative thinking, which both of these reservoirs represent. Add in creative partnerships, perseverance and continued collaboration, and we have a formula for success.

Melissa L. Meeker is the executive director of the South Florida Water Management District.

The readers’ forum

SFWMD returns to its core mission

A more streamlined, mission-focused budget at the South Florida Water Management District will continue to deliver progress in Everglades restoration without abandoning the science that supports it, as some critics fear. In streamlining operations and returning the agency to its core mission of flood control, water supply and ecosystem restoration, the District is appropriately assessing the scope of science, research and monitoring.

Over the past six years, we have invested more than $250 million in the monitoring and assessment of South Florida’s ecosystem and flood-control system. To gather water-quality information alone, the District annually collects samples from close to 2,000 monitoring stations and runs more than 300,000 laboratory tests. To evaluate water flow, we gather data from 4,500 sensors at more than 500 sites throughout the greater Everglades.

More than $32 million has been committed for monitoring to produce data that will be helpful to restoration projects.

This funding is further enhanced by significant investments made by other government, academic and environmental organizations.

As a partner in the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP), we also finance a Monitoring and Assessment Program (MAP), in which we have invested $75 million over 10 years together with our federal partners. We now have in hand more than a decade of pre-project data, plus the knowledge that some of the data aren’t as applicable to restoration objectives as originally thought.

As CERP projects become authorized by Congress and construction a reality, we can verify the level of pre-project data and refocus our monitoring efforts on measuring the response of the ecosystem to implemented restoration projects. In the meantime, it’s incumbent upon state, federal and local partners to reevaluate the MAP program. We must strike the right balance between allocating taxpayer dollars toward monitoring the environment and building the projects that will improve it.

Melissa Meeker, executive director, South Florida Water Management District, West Palm Beach