Governor Ron DeSantis attended a groundbreaking ceremony for a new inflow pump station at the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) Reservoir Project in Palm Beach County. The EAA Reservoir, located south of Lake Okeechobee, is designed to store over 78 billion gallons of water and deliver up to 470 billion gallons of clean water annually to the Everglades and Florida Bay. It also supports the Biscayne Aquifer, which supplies drinking water to South Florida.
This event marks the 80th milestone related to Everglades restoration since 2019, reflecting an ongoing series of ribbon cuttings, groundbreakings, and project completions under Governor DeSantis’s leadership.
“Florida reached a historic agreement with the Trump Administration earlier this year to expedite and advance Everglades restoration,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “Today, I was pleased to announce a milestone in Everglades restoration made possible by our cooperation with the federal government. Florida is now breaking ground on the new EAA Inflow Pump Station, an essential component of the EAA Reservoir project. This is the second Everglades restoration project to commence since the agreement with the Army Corps of Engineers last summer, which has empowered Florida to step up our Everglades restoration efforts. Today’s groundbreaking marks the 80th milestone event in Everglades restoration that has taken place since 2019, thanks to our leadership and commitment to getting this done.”
Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Alexis Lambert commented on progress: “The EAA Reservoir is a critical component of Everglades restoration and Governor DeSantis has led the charge on getting this project done. Restoring America’s Everglades is one of the most ambitious environmental restoration projects ever undertaken and will restore the natural flow of clean water south to where it’s needed most. With every project we are delivering real results on time, under budget and with strong returns for Florida’s taxpayers.”
The new pump station will feature nine pumps capable of moving about three billion gallons per day from Lake Okeechobee into the reservoir. It will be among Florida’s largest pump stations.
Historically, changes made to prevent flooding altered Florida’s water system but disrupted natural flows into the Everglades. The EAA Reservoir Project aims to redirect water southward, help restore ecosystems, and reduce harmful discharges into local estuaries such as Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie.
A recent agreement between Florida and the U.S. Department of Army signed in July 2025 accelerates construction timelines for key projects like this reservoir by five years—from an original completion date in 2034 now moved up to 2029—and seeks to reduce bureaucratic delays while reallocating resources for faster progress.
Other milestones include completion or acceleration of major reservoirs such as C-44 and C-43; significant reductions in nutrient pollution—over 1.8 million pounds less nitrogen and 770,000 pounds less phosphorus entering waterways; as well as tripling South Florida’s water storage capacity since 2019.
Governor DeSantis prioritized these efforts early in his administration through Executive Order 19-12 committing $2.5 billion over four years toward water quality improvements—surpassing that goal with $3.3 billion invested during his first term alone. With additional allocations totaling $4.6 billion so far during his second term—including $1.4 billion in fiscal year 2025-26—the state approaches nearly $8 billion invested since 2019 in both Everglades restoration and overall water quality improvements.
