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May 6, 4:07 PM EDT
Reservoir larger than Manhattan planned to help Everglades
By BRIAN SKOLOFF
Associated Press Writer
IN THE EVERGLADES, Fla. (AP) -- Around South Florida's vast sugar cane fields, where turtles grow to the size of basketballs and alligators own the marsh, the silence of the swamp is broken by the sound of rumbling trucks and explosions.
The earth-moving equipment and high explosives are laying the foundation for a mammoth construction project: a reservoir bigger than Manhattan designed to revive the ecosystem of the once-famed River of Grass.
More than a century after the first homes and farms took shape in the Everglades, decades of flood-control projects have left the region parched and near ecological collapse. Now crews are building what will be the world's largest aboveground manmade reservoir to restore some natural water flow to the wetlands.
Engineers "built this thing beautifully," said Terrence Salt of the U.S. Interior Department, referring to the flood-control systems that practically drained the swamp to make way for development decades ago. "But as we look back at it through the lens of our current 21st-century values and understanding, you get a different take on it, which leads to our restoration efforts now."
The wetlands once covered more than 6,250 square miles, but they have shrunk by half, replaced with homes and farms and a 2,000-mile grid of drainage canals. In the process, the Everglades has lost 90 percent of its wading birds. Other creatures are at risk, too, including 68 species that are considered threatened or endangered.
The reservoir, estimated to cost up to $800 million, is the largest and most expensive part of a sweeping state and federal restoration effort.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EVERGLADES_RESERVOIR?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US
Reservoir larger than Manhattan planned to help Everglades
By BRIAN SKOLOFF
Associated Press Writer
IN THE EVERGLADES, Fla. (AP) -- Around South Florida's vast sugar cane fields, where turtles grow to the size of basketballs and alligators own the marsh, the silence of the swamp is broken by the sound of rumbling trucks and explosions.
The earth-moving equipment and high explosives are laying the foundation for a mammoth construction project: a reservoir bigger than Manhattan designed to revive the ecosystem of the once-famed River of Grass.
More than a century after the first homes and farms took shape in the Everglades, decades of flood-control projects have left the region parched and near ecological collapse. Now crews are building what will be the world's largest aboveground manmade reservoir to restore some natural water flow to the wetlands.
Engineers "built this thing beautifully," said Terrence Salt of the U.S. Interior Department, referring to the flood-control systems that practically drained the swamp to make way for development decades ago. "But as we look back at it through the lens of our current 21st-century values and understanding, you get a different take on it, which leads to our restoration efforts now."
The wetlands once covered more than 6,250 square miles, but they have shrunk by half, replaced with homes and farms and a 2,000-mile grid of drainage canals. In the process, the Everglades has lost 90 percent of its wading birds. Other creatures are at risk, too, including 68 species that are considered threatened or endangered.
The reservoir, estimated to cost up to $800 million, is the largest and most expensive part of a sweeping state and federal restoration effort.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EVERGLADES_RESERVOIR?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US