What was once farmland in Hendry County could one day help solve our water quality crisis.
That’s the idea behind the ‘C-43 West Basin Storage Reservoir,’ which will capture runoff, Lake Okeechobee releases, and improve the timing of discharges to the Caloosahatchee River.
The South Florida water management district is looking at treatment options to clean the water before, during, and after it’s in the reservoir.
Georgia Vince with J-Tech said, “Flows from the river will be directed down to the Townsend Canal and into the reservoir. When the river and estuary call for it, water that is stored will be discharged through the Townsend Canal and back into the river and estuary.”
Some water quality treatment ideas include constructed wetlands and sand filtration.
Once completed in 2023, the reservoir in Hendry County will hold about 170,000 acre-feet of water, or 150 Houston Astrodomes full of water.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will be talking about Lake Okeechobee releases again. They are holding a meeting Thursday at 2:30 p.m.
Wednesday’s Lake o water levels are at 16.08 (Feet-NGVD29).