Fri, 06/19/2009 - 14:53 — Rae Ann Wessel
June 17, 2009
Important Water
Issue Update:
Obstacle to Southern Flow Lifted
The Federal District
Court has lifted the injunction against building a bridge on the Tamiami
Trail. This bridge is one of the critical Everglades Modified Water
Delivery projects that will elevate U.S. 41 where it crosses the Everglades
so that water can once again flow south into Everglades National Park.
The road acts as a dam
and must be elevated before water from Lake
Okeechobee can be
redirected
to the south. Once the road is elevated and the water can flow south
through the U.S. Sugar lands, the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie River
estuaries will finally begin to get relief from excess flows of unwanted
water.
With this news there is
hope that the project might break ground before the
end of the fiscal year, September 30th. Attached below is a PDF of
the Order to Dismiss the lawsuit by the Miccosukee Tribe.
Background
The Modified Water Delivery project (or "Mod Waters") is designed
to restore water flow to Everglades National Park while maintaining water
levels and flood protection in other areas.
If you have ever driven
U.S. 41 across the state through the Everglades,
you may have noticed more water on the north side than the south side of
the road. This road, built in the 1920s, is a major obstacle to water flow
south into Everglades National Park and Florida Bay.
Studies have shown that
an 11-mile section of the road in Dade County --
where it crosses the deepest part of the Everglades -- is preventing water
from flowing south into Everglades National Park. Preferably, a 10 - 11
mile stretch of the Trail should be elevated. The current U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers proposal is to elevate only a one-mile section of the roadway.
Although not ideal, this is a beginning for a project that has been too
long delayed and must be accomplished before additional Lake Okeechobee
water can be released south.