A significant milestone in Everglades restoration is signaling renewed momentum for one of the most ambitious ecosystem recovery efforts in the world.
Federal and state partners have approved an accelerated plan to advance the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) Reservoir—the centerpiece of Everglades restoration—moving its completion five years ahead of schedule, from 2034 to 2029.
It is welcome news for the millions of Floridians whose drinking water, economic livelihoods, and quality of life depend on a healthy Everglades—and a powerful reminder that large-scale environmental restoration is not only possible, but underway.
A Globally Unique Ecosystem Under Threat
Spanning more than two million acres, the Everglades is the largest subtropical wilderness in North America. Known as the “River of Grass” for its slow-moving sheet flow of freshwater, this vast ecosystem supports nine distinct habitat types. It is home to more than 2,000 plant and animal species, including over 70 that are federally endangered or threatened. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, an International Biosphere Reserve, and the only place on Earth where alligators and crocodiles coexist.
But the Everglades is also one of the most endangered ecosystems in the United States. Beginning in the early 20th century, the Everglades was extensively drained and channelized to make way for agriculture, urban development, and flood control. Thousands of miles of canals, levees, and water control structures now divert at least two-thirds of the region’s freshwater east and west—rather than allowing it to flow naturally south through the Everglades and into Florida Bay. Today, the Everglades is less than half its original size.
The consequences have been severe: disrupted wildlife habitats, increased wildfire risk during dry seasons, toxic algae blooms fueled by nutrient-laden discharges from Lake Okeechobee, and a weakened freshwater barrier against saltwater intrusion into the aquifers that supply drinking water to South Florida.
Why Restoration Matters—For People, the Economy, and the Planet
The Everglades is far more than a natural treasure. Roughly nine million people—about one in three Floridians—live in the 16 counties that make up the Greater Everglades ecosystem and rely on its clean water. The Everglades wetlands recharge the Biscayne Aquifer, the primary source of drinking water for Miami-Dade, Broward, and Monroe counties.
The ecosystem is also an economic powerhouse. A first-of-its-kind 2025 economic study revealed that over 50 years, the Everglades will contribute an estimated $1 trillion in ecosystem services—supporting tourism, real estate, recreation, fisheries, and hospitality sectors that depend on clean, abundant freshwater. The system generates approximately $31 billion in annual economic benefits.
The Everglades’ mangrove forests and wetlands also serve as natural barriers against hurricanes, absorbing storm surges and reducing flooding. In a region on the front lines of climate change, Everglades restoration is proving to be a resilience multiplier—protecting water supplies, mitigating wildfire risk, sequestering carbon, and strengthening the long-term sustainability of South Florida’s communities.
Everglades restoration is proving to be a climate resilience multiplier for South Florida, with the ecosystem’s mangrove forests and wetlands absorbing storm surges, reducing flood risk, sequestering carbon, and safeguarding drinking water supplies for communities on the front lines of a changing climate. Photo by Luis Falcon courtesy of The Everglades Foundation.
The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan
The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) was signed into law in 2000, with
bipartisan support by President Bill Clinton and Republican Governor Jeb Bush. It is the largest ecological restoration project in U.S. history—and in the world. CERP is a 50/50 partnership between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the South Florida Water Management District, encompassing 68 project components designed to restore the natural southerly flow of freshwater from Lake Okeechobee through the Everglades and into Florida Bay.
The fundamental objective is to improve water infrastructure to store, clean, and redirect
water south—getting the water right in terms of quality, quantity, timing, and distribution. Several CERP projects are already delivering measurable results, including the completed C-43 and C-44 Reservoirs, the rehabilitated Herbert Hoover Dike, the Tamiami Trail bridges, and the recently completed Picayune Strand Restoration Project, which restored over 55,000 acres of wetlands in Southwest Florida.
The EAA Reservoir: The Crown Jewel Accelerated
At the heart of the restoration plan sits the EAA Reservoir, often called the “crown jewel” of Everglades restoration. Located south of Lake Okeechobee, the project includes a 10,500-acre reservoir currently under construction and a 6,500-acre engineered wetland—already completed—that will clean the water before it is sent south. Together, they will have the capacity to hold 78 billion gallons of water and deliver up to 470 billion gallons of clean water annually to the Everglades and Florida Bay.
A landmark 2025 agreement between the State of Florida and the U.S. Department of the Army accelerated the project's construction timeline by five years. In April 2026, all federally funded contracts were fully executed, confirming the resources are in place to meet the 2029 target. Critical infrastructure is already underway, including an inflow pump station capable of moving approximately three billion gallons of water per day from Lake Okeechobee into the reservoir.
Once operational, the EAA Reservoir will reduce harmful nutrient-rich discharges to
Florida’s east and west coast estuaries by up to 55%—discharges that currently fuel toxic blue-green algae blooms and red tide outbreaks that devastate wildlife, threaten public health, and harm coastal tourism economies. It will also provide clean freshwater to the Everglades during the dry season and help recharge the Biscayne Aquifer, strengthening South Florida’s water security for generations to come.
Momentum Built on Bipartisan Support
What makes this progress remarkable is not just the engineering—it is the enduring bipartisan commitment that has sustained Everglades restoration across administrations and decades. Since its authorization over 25 years ago, the Everglades has remained a unifying priority. The state of Florida has committed nearly $8 billion to restoration projects since 2019, and the latest federal commitment ensures the EAA Reservoir will be completed on its accelerated timeline.
This is what large-scale environmental progress looks like: science-driven planning, sustained investment, cross-sector collaboration, and a shared commitment to finishing the job. As the Everglades continues to face threats from climate change, development, and water scarcity, the accelerated restoration timeline is a beacon of what is possible when we invest in nature and the communities that depend on it.
