Huge reservoir rises in the Everglades

The lake will be filled to an average depth of about 12.5 feet by diverting a nearby canal and adding pumps to push water into it. Officials also are considering allowing boating and fishing. The reservoir is almost sure to have alligators, too, since they are common throughout the Everglades.

No one disagrees that storing runoff water is key to reviving the Everglades, but the restoration effort has for years pitted environmentalists against the government.

The Natural Resources Defense Council has sued over the reservoir, claiming the state has not legally committed itself to using the water primarily for Everglades restoration.

The state insists 80 percent of the water will be for environmental purposes, but critics fear that without a legally binding agreement, the water could be sent elsewhere for agriculture or development.

"The Everglades and everyone deserves better than that," said council attorney Brad Sewell.

Other bodies of water planned throughout the Glades will serve in a similar way, but none will be as large as the 25-square-mile reservoir now being built.

The overall Everglades project, including the reservoir, is the largest such wetlands-restoration effort in the world. Much of its cost was supposed to be split 50-50 by the federal government and the state. But because Congress hasn't allocated its share, many aspects of the work have been delayed.

In 2000, the key parts of the restoration were estimated to cost $7.8 billion and take 30 years to finish. The price tag has now ballooned by billions of dollars because of rising construction and real estate costs. It's unknown when all the work will be complete, if ever.

While the restoration efforts have been slow-going, there are signs of success.

In the north, dozens of wading birds have returned to the Kissimmee River basin, the Everglades headwaters. In the south, a pair of newborn panther cubs were discovered last year near the Big Cypress National Preserve.

The big cats once roamed by the thousands throughout the southeastern U.S., but development has crowded out their only remaining habitat in southwest Florida. Scientists estimate there are no more than 100 panthers remaining in the state.

Carol Wehle, director of the South Florida Water Management District, said the birth of the panthers "can be directly attributed to restoration efforts."

"As we do these things, we're seeing how quickly Mother Nature actually heals herself," Wehle said.

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