OfTheCross
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https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/environment/article253783978.html?
South Florida sugar farmers are suing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over water levels in a massive reservoir considered key to Everglades restoration and reducing coastal algae blooms.
Florida Crystals, through its Okeelanta Corp. subsidiary, the Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative of Florida and U.S. Sugar filed separate complaints on Thursday alleging the Corps is planning on operating the reservoir, which is still being built, under a strategy that will reduce their water supply. The three companies want the reservoir to be kept at higher levels than what the Corps is planning, according to the complaints.
“Farms need a secure supply of water, and all farmers need certainty as we plan and manage our planting schedules and crop rotation,” Jaime Vega, Florida Crystals’ vice president of agriculture, said in a statement.
The Everglades Agricultural Area reservoir is one of the most important Everglades restoration projects as it’s expected to improve water quality flowing south through Shark Valley in Everglades National Park, taking much-needed fresh water all the way south to Florida Bay. Once completed, the reservoir and its stormwater treatment area component will clean water from Lake Okeechobee before it flows south. It will also reduce the need for polluted lake water discharges to estuaries on the east and west coasts of the state, which has led to harmful algae booms in past years.
South Florida sugar farmers are suing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over water levels in a massive reservoir considered key to Everglades restoration and reducing coastal algae blooms.
Florida Crystals, through its Okeelanta Corp. subsidiary, the Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative of Florida and U.S. Sugar filed separate complaints on Thursday alleging the Corps is planning on operating the reservoir, which is still being built, under a strategy that will reduce their water supply. The three companies want the reservoir to be kept at higher levels than what the Corps is planning, according to the complaints.
“Farms need a secure supply of water, and all farmers need certainty as we plan and manage our planting schedules and crop rotation,” Jaime Vega, Florida Crystals’ vice president of agriculture, said in a statement.
The Everglades Agricultural Area reservoir is one of the most important Everglades restoration projects as it’s expected to improve water quality flowing south through Shark Valley in Everglades National Park, taking much-needed fresh water all the way south to Florida Bay. Once completed, the reservoir and its stormwater treatment area component will clean water from Lake Okeechobee before it flows south. It will also reduce the need for polluted lake water discharges to estuaries on the east and west coasts of the state, which has led to harmful algae booms in past years.
