SFWMD, officials celebrate pump station completion

Dec 27, 2023 By SOUTH FLORIDA WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT 2 min read

SOUTH FLORIDA WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT From left, Hendry County Commissioner Ramon Iglesias, LaBelle City Commissioner Hugo Vargas, Hendry County Commissioner Emory “Rowdy” Howard, Hendry County Vice Chair Mitchell Wills, Hendry County Chairperson Emma Byrd, South Florida Water Management District Governing Board Chairman Chauncey Goss, state Rep. Adam Botana, Florida Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, SFWMD Director Drew Bartlett, state Sen. Jonathan Martin, SFWMD Board Member Charlette Roman, Sanibel City Councilmember Holly Smith, Hendry County Commissioner Karson Turner, LaBelle Mayor Julie Wilkins, Florida Department of Environmental Protection Deputy Secretary Adam Blalock, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District Maj. Cory Bell and SFWMD Board Member Ben Butler.

On Dec. 19, the South Florida Water Management District joined federal, state and local officials to celebrate the completion of a new pump station for the Caloosahatchee (C-43) Reservoir Project in Hendry County.

“Today is another massive step forward to further improve our waters here in Southwest Florida and support the restoration of America’s Everglades,” SFWMD Governing Board Chairman Chauncey Goss said. “Southwest Florida knows how important our water quality is to our way of life, our estuary and our local economy. Once this reservoir comes online, there will be billions of gallons of water storage available that will protect the delicate balance of fresh and salt water in the Caloosahatchee Estuary.”

The C-43 reservoir is an 18-square-mile water storage project that provides water storage and supports healthy salinity levels in the Caloosahatchee Estuary. It will reduce harmful flows of water to the estuary from Lake Okeechobee and the local watershed during the wet season and provide beneficial freshwater flows to the estuary in the dry season. It will hold approximately 170,000 acre-feet of water, which is about 55 billion gallons.

The new pump station, one of the largest pump stations in the state, is the main inflow structure for the reservoir. It has the capability to move more than 650,000 gallons of water per minute from the Caloosahatchee into the reservoir using four large pumps.

The reservoir also includes 19 miles of dam embankments, 15 miles of perimeter canals, 14 major water control structures and more. The remaining portions of the project are expected to be substantially complete by 2025, and the reservoir is expected to begin initial operations in 2025.

Once online, the reservoir will:

– Store excess freshwater from the local watershed and Lake Okeechobee before it can reach the downstream estuary.

– Help sustain a healthy nursery for fish in the estuary.

– Enhance the resiliency of our water resources.

The C-43 project is a key component of the joint state-federal Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to restore the environment and make water resources more resilient.

To reach SOUTH FLORIDA WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT, please email