Everglades restoration to 'get the water right' estimated at $7.4 billion through 2030
Everglades restoration projects will require about $7.4 billion over the next 10 years, compared with $6 billion spent through 2019, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said while presenting a draft of its work schedule
The estimated cost for 2020-30 is what has been authorized for construction, and doesnt include other projects that are currently waiting for authorization, said Eva Velez, a Corps project manager who oversees the integrated delivery schedule of Everglades restoration projects. Under the schedule presented this week, the federal and state governments will need to spend about a billion dollars every year through 2026.
She said the Corps is also counting on Congress speeding up delayed projects by passing water resources and infrastructure bills every two years, as it has done since 2014.
When Everglades restoration was authorized in 2000, its goal of 68 original projects was based on the idea that Congress would approve such bills every two years, but no bills passed between 2007 and 2014, stalling some of the work.
Everglades