Governor Ron DeSantis attended a groundbreaking ceremony in Palm Beach County for the new inflow pump station at the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) Reservoir Project. The EAA Reservoir, located south of Lake Okeechobee, is designed to store more than 78 billion gallons of water and deliver up to 470 billion gallons of clean water annually to the Everglades and Florida Bay. It also helps support the Biscayne Aquifer, which supplies drinking water for South Florida.
This event marks the 80th milestone since 2019 related to Everglades restoration projects under Governor DeSantis’ 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.”
“The EAA Reservoir is a critical component of Everglades restoration and Governor DeSantis has led the charge on getting this project done,” said Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Alexis Lambert. “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 have nine pumps and be among Florida’s largest such facilities. It will move approximately three billion gallons of water per day from Lake Okeechobee into the reservoir.
Historically, changes were made to Florida’s water system mainly for flood prevention but at a cost—disrupting natural flows into the Everglades. The EAA Reservoir Project aims to correct this by redirecting water southward, helping ecosystems recover and reducing damaging discharges into nearby estuaries.
A recent agreement between Florida and U.S. Army officials signed in July 2025 speeds up construction timelines for key projects like this reservoir by five years—from completion in 2034 now targeted for 2029—and removes some federal regulatory barriers so resources can be used more efficiently.
Other completed or accelerated efforts include finishing both C-44 and C-43 reservoirs as well as tripling South Florida’s storage capacity since 2019—now holding about 176 billion gallons—and significant nutrient reductions from state waterways.
Since taking office, Governor DeSantis made restoring these wetlands central policy goals: his first executive order allocated $2.5 billion over four years; actual investments have surpassed $8 billion since then through successive budgets focused on improving both water quality and ecological resilience across southern parts of Florida.
