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Poster, Army Conservation Project, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers |
But, the Corps, recognizing the risk of limited hydrogeologic data in the proposed project area, rightly decided to drop deep injection wells from further consideration. Instead, they recommended a comprehensive study to evaluate potential system-wide impacts to the Everglades ecosystem. The Boulder Zone, where water would be dumped 3,000 feet down, is supposed to be confined. But, this layer could be prone to vertical cracks that might allow untreated surface water to migrate back up into drinking water sources. Considering these uncertainties, it’s shocking how quickly the Governor and his water managers want to move forward with this.
Diagram of Deep Injection Well |
Big Sugar and Big Ag will stop at nothing to avoid selling any more land, whether north or south of the Lake. What is surprising is the extremes they would go: to deprive the public of billions of gallons of water in an age of recurring and intensifying droughts. We all desire a stop to harmful Lake O discharges to the estuaries, but the solution is not to create a new problem.
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A Deep Injection Wellhead |
Diana Umpierre is Sierra Club's Everglades Organizing Representative. She can be reached at: diana.umpierre@sierraclub.org.
To find more about why Sierra Club opposes deep injection wells in Everglades Restoration, check out our position statement.
What can you do?
1) Send a thank you note to the US Army Corps of Engineers for making the right decision and not agreeing to wasting our federal tax dollars on deep injection wells that do not help restore the Everglades. And, encourage them to seek project alternatives that are closer to true restoration of wetlands and other natural surface water storage and flows that benefit people and wildlife. Send your thanks to: OkeechobeeWatershedRestoration@usace.army.mil and bbc: diana.umpierre@sierraclub.org to know of your action. In the body of the email, address your comments to:
Tim Gysan, USACE Project Manager
Colonel Jason A. Kirk, Commander of USACE Jacksonville District
2) Write a “Letter-to-the-Editor” (LTE) in your local news in South Florida to express why you do NOT support the use of deep injection wells in Everglades Restoration. It’s easy, it’s fast: it makes a difference! Click here for quick How-To. Contact us if you would like more writing tips, or want to get more involved in restoring our precious jewel: the American’s Everglades, our River of Grass.