Basin-Specific Feasibility Studies: Overview of the Evaluation of Alternatives for the ECP Basins

Abstract

Florida’s 1994 Everglades Forever Act (EFA) established both interim and long -term water quality goals designed to restore and protect the Ev erglades Protection Area (EPA). Activities are currently underway to meet the interim goal of reducing phosphorus levels in discharges from the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) and other sources to a long-term annual flow-weighted mean concentration of 50 parts per billion (ppb). These activities include implementation of Best Management Practices (BMPs) and the construction of over 42,000 acres of Stormwater Treatment Areas (STAs) through the Everglades Construction Project (ECP). Concurrent with thes e activities, the South Florida Water Management District and other groups are conducting water quality research, ecosystem-wide planning, and regulatory programs to ensure a sound scientific foundation for decision -making related to the EFA requirements. One of these activities was the Basin -Specific Feasibility Studies (BSFS) which evaluated alternative combinations of BMPs, STAs, Advanced Treatment Technologies (ATTs), and/or regulatory programs to achieve the long -term water quality goals in the Evergl ades Protection Area.