Contents Notes |
Draining the swamp : development and the beginning of flood control in South Florida, 1845-1947 -- Federal intervention : the Central and Southern Florida Flood Control Project, 1948 -- Balancing demands : implementing the Central and Southern Florida Flood Control Project, 1949-1960 -- Conflicting priorities : Everglades National Park and water supply in the 1960s -- Flexing the environmental muscle : the Cross-Florida Barge Canal, the Everglades Jetport, and Big Cypress Swamp -- The liquid heart of Florida : Lake Okeechobee and the Kissimmee River in the 1970s -- "Save our Everglades" : Reagan's new federalism and Governor Bob Graham in the 1980s -- "That damn sewer ditch" : Kissimmee River restoration efforts, 1978-1988 -- Lake Okeechobee II : science in a race with politics and nature -- Envelopes of protection : land acquisition programs in Florida, 1980-1990 -- Brewing storm : development, water supply, and the East Everglades -- The "ultimate hammer" : Dexter Lehtinen's lawsuit -- A broader perspective : ecosystem restoration becomes national policy -- Searching for consensus : sustainability and the move towards Everglades restoration -- Preserving their interests : the Seminole and Miccosukee Indians -- A laboratory for the Everglades : Kissimmee River restoration in the 1990s -- Conflicts and difficulties : water distribution in the 1990s -- Getting the water right : the restudy and enactment of CERP, 1996-2000. In 1948 Congress answered the outcry of Florida residents for both flood protection and a more reliable drinking water supply by authorizing the Central and Southern Flood Control Project, otherwise known as the C & SF Project. Shortly thereafter, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began construction on one of the nation's largest infrastructure projects. While the project served its intended purposes far better than ever anticipated, it also caused extensive damage to the naturally occurring ecosystems of south Florida, including the Everglades ecosystem located within and beyond Everglades National Park. Here is a history of the construction of the C & SF Project and the project's unintended impacts on the environment, and the evolution of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP). Water is the essential focus of this history, including its distribution, its quality, and its essentiality for life in South Florida. The following study highlights its importance in the region, as well as the problems that have developed betweens different interests fighting over the resource. Moreover, this report outlines the environmental transformation of the Corps, the events leading up to CERP, and the initial stages of that program. By doing so, it provides a needed perspective of how and why CERP was developed, and what problems, concerns, and interests informed water management in South Florida between 1948 and 2010. |