Audubon staff attended the much-anticipated ribbon-cutting to celebrate the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) Reservoir’s Stormwater Treatment Area (STA) cell on January 25, 2024. The event was hosted by the South Florida Water Management District as they took over this contract from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

At the event, a record number of attendees cheered as the water entered the first cell of the STA, which is now complete. Constructed on an expedited schedule, this water holding area is a critical component of overall Everglades restoration. The EAA Reservoir, which broke ground last year, will hold 240,000 acre feet of water, which in turn will be cleaned by this 6,500-acre STA. Together they are considered the “crown jewel” of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, working to send water south, rehydrate our aquifers, connect Lake Okeechobee to the southern system, and reduce harmful discharges into the northern estuaries.

The remaining two cells in the STA will come online by this summer.