Q&A – What Is The C-51 Reservoir & What is its Potential Impact in Protecting Florida’s Waterways?

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Today’s Entry: Brian, I’ve always appreciated your in-depth reporting pertaining to discharges and Florida’s waterways. On that note, what is the C-51 Reservoir? I’m familiar with the C-51 Canal but had not heard of a related reservoir until your report. Thank you.

Bottom Line: It’s been so long and there are so many moving pieces to the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan that it’s not at all unusual for there to be details of it lost in translation. The original plan was established in 2000. The "Generation 1” projects were established in 2007 with “Generation 2” projects brought about in 2014. There’s the Central Everglades Planning Project and then there are projects that are still in the planning phase even now. It’s a lot. How much? There are currently 68 separate projects that are all part of the comprehensive plan. It’s also often confusing because when people hear about the Everglades Restoration Plan, they don’t necessarily think about canals and waterways that aren’t in the Everglades but that are an essential part of the planning and restoration process. Effectively there’s not a waterway parallel to or below Lake Okeechobee that isn’t part of the plan in some capacity. That includes the C-51 Canal which runs through the Palm Beaches and the C-51 Reservoir Project that’s underway. The reason you’ve started to hear about the C-51 Reservoir is due to additional life having been breathed into that phase of the project this week.

On Monday, at a stop in West Palm Beach at the Cox Science Center and Aquarium, Governor DeSantis announced he’ll sign off on a $1.5 billion expansion of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Project approved by the legislature. Of the new round of funding, $850 million will specifically go to Everglades projects, with the balance going to improve water quality in Florida’s waterways – including the efforts to end east-west discharges from Lake Okeechobee. Specific to the Palm Beaches, $100 million is for the completion of the second phase of the C-51 Reservoir, which when completed, will reduce eastern discharges through the C-51 Canal into the Lake Worth Lagoon. So, what is the second phase of the reservoir plan (or the first for that matter)?

The C-51 Reservoir is a two-faceted project to create another sustainable municipal water supply and to reduce freshwater discharges into the intracoastal/Lake Worth Lagoon. As you would likely guess the C-51 Reservoir is adjacent to the C-51 Canal and its water will be supplied by water flowing into the canal. As is noted by Palm Beach Aggregates, the Commercial operator of the site in this public-private partnership:

Occupying 2,200 acres of the PBA property, the C-51 Reservoir, when implemented, could store up to 61,000 acre-feet of raw water. The initial phase would hold approximately 16,000 acre-feet and supply 35 million gallons per day (MGD) of raw water to participating utilities. Phase Two will add an additional 45,000 acre-feet of water storage.

While serving as a municipal water supply, the reservoir will be capable of capturing storm water which is currently lost to the Lake Worth Lagoon estuary. It is expected that elimination of excess freshwater discharges to the brackish Lake Worth Lagoon will provide immense environmental benefits through water quality improvement. The reservoir would also serve to assist with flood control and Everglades restoration efforts. Comparable to the highly successful Loxahatchee Reservoir project, completed in 2007 and renamed the L8 Reservoir, the C-51 Reservoir sits on adjacent property and carries similar geological features and environmental benefits.

As noted, the second phase of the reservoir raises the capacity of the reservoir from 16,000 acre-feet of capacity to 61,000 – the end goal. The $100 million allocated by the state hopefully will get this across the finish line. Planning for this particular project, the C-51 Reservoir, began in 2006 and underwent a series of environmental impact studies until being finalized in 2014 and approved in 2015. Groundbreaking for the first phase took place in 2021. According to the South Florida Water Management District the expected timeline for phase 1 completion was 24 months. It appears as though that timeline roughly held up with completion in January of this year. I’ve not yet seen an updated estimate for completion of the second phase.

The C-51 Reservoir Project really helps highlight why it is that the Everglades Restoration Plan is “Comprehensive”. To date most of the emphasis on reservoirs related to the CERP has focused on the EAA Reservoir South of Lake Okeechobee, and for good reason. Once the three phases of it are completed it will have the capacity to store 78 billion gallons and will greatly reduce the need for future Lake Okeechobee discharges. However, specific to the water quality of the Lake Worth Lagoon the much smaller C-51 will play an important role going forward. And that’s independent of the important role it will play to provide needed water to many of South Florida’s growing communities.

Nick Donovan