Ron DeSantis has made environmental restoration a cornerstone of his time in office.
The Left never expected what came next.
And Ron DeSantis delivered two words that will make Democrats have nightmares about Florida's future.
DeSantis breaks ground on massive Everglades pump station
Governor Ron DeSantis broke ground on one of the largest pump stations in Florida history near Lake Okeechobee this week.
The nine-pump facility will move roughly 3 billion gallons of water per day from Lake Okeechobee into a massive reservoir south of the lake.¹
DeSantis stood at the groundbreaking site and said something that has environmentalists celebrating and Washington, D.C. Democrats fuming.
"Manhattan's safer," DeSantis joked when describing the reservoir project, taking a shot at newly-elected Democratic Socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani.²
https://twitter.com/GovRonDeSantis/status/1986452943781175502
But beyond the political jab, DeSantis delivered news that sent shockwaves through the environmental world.
The EAA Reservoir Project will be completed by 2029 — a full five years ahead of the Biden Administration's sluggish 2034 timeline.³
That acceleration happened because President Donald Trump and DeSantis struck a deal in July 2025 that cut through federal red tape and let Florida take the lead on key components of the restoration.⁴
The pump station marks the 80th milestone in Everglades restoration under DeSantis since 2019 — more than any administration in state history.⁵
Decades of toxic algae blooms wreaked havoc on Florida
For decades, Lake Okeechobee has been the epicenter of Florida's water crisis.
When heavy rains fill the lake beyond capacity, the Army Corps of Engineers has historically released massive amounts of water east and west through canals — dumping nutrient-rich pollution directly into the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee Rivers.⁶
Those discharges carried nitrogen and phosphorus from decades of agricultural runoff, creating perfect conditions for toxic blue-green algae blooms that devastated coastal communities.⁷
The 2016 algae crisis covered 85 square miles of Lake Okeechobee and spread through discharge canals all the way to the Atlantic Ocean.⁸
In 2018, another massive bloom covered 90% of the lake and caused beach closures, killed marine life, and cost Southwest Florida's economy over $460 million in lost tourism, fishing, and property values.⁹
The toxic algae posed serious health risks to humans and animals — pets and livestock died after drinking contaminated water, while residents suffered respiratory issues from airborne toxins.¹⁰
Red tide blooms in the Gulf of Mexico were supercharged by the nutrient-rich discharges from Lake Okeechobee, creating a cascading environmental disaster that killed manatees, fish, and destroyed seagrass beds that marine life depends on.¹¹
https://twitter.com/GovRonDeSantis/status/1986529957267267655
Democrats in Washington, D.C. spent years making promises about Everglades restoration while federal projects languished under bureaucratic delays.
Under the Biden Administration, Army Corps projects took three times longer to begin construction compared to state-managed projects in Florida.¹²
Trump and DeSantis fast-track restoration after Biden's failures
DeSantis made Everglades restoration a priority from day one in office.
On his second day as Governor in January 2019, DeSantis issued Executive Order 19-12 committing $2.5 billion over four years for water quality and Everglades projects.¹³
He didn't just meet that goal — he exceeded it with $3.3 billion invested in his first term, more than the previous 12 years of state investment combined.¹⁴
In his second term, DeSantis has already committed $4.6 billion in three years, putting Florida on pace to exceed his $3.5 billion second-term goal.¹⁵
Altogether, nearly $8 billion has been invested in Everglades restoration and water quality since 2019 under DeSantis.¹⁶
The results speak for themselves — annual nutrient reductions now exceed 1.8 million pounds of nitrogen and 770,000 pounds of phosphorus removed from Florida's waterways each year.¹⁷
South Florida's water storage capacity has tripled from 57 billion gallons to 176 billion gallons with completion of major reservoirs.¹⁸
But the real breakthrough came when President Trump returned to office in 2025.
https://twitter.com/GovRonDeSantis/status/1986496138007208424
During Trump's July visit to Florida for the controversial Alligator Alcatraz immigration detention facility, DeSantis brought up Everglades restoration.
"I spoke to the president about this even before he took office, he's like, 'Hey, how can I help?' And I was like, 'well, this is one thing you guys have funding for is to delegate responsibility for us to bring some of these projects to completion on the Everglades,'" DeSantis explained.¹⁹
Trump immediately agreed — "He was all about it," DeSantis said. "When he was down here for the Alligator Alcatraz, this came up, and he said, 'It's going to happen.'"²⁰
On July 18, 2025, Florida and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers signed a landmark agreement that allows Florida to construct the inflow and outflow pump stations while the Corps focuses on the main reservoir basin.²¹
The agreement cuts the EAA Reservoir completion timeline by five years — from Biden's 2034 date to 2029.²²
Florida also assumed responsibility for the Blue Shanty Flow Way project, a vital system to deliver clean water south across Tamiami Trail into Florida Bay, and expects to finish it two years ahead of schedule.²³
https://twitter.com/RealAlexJones/status/1940143029316186204
What the massive reservoir system means for Florida
When completed, the EAA Reservoir will store 78 billion gallons of water — larger than Manhattan by volume — and deliver up to 470 billion gallons of clean water annually to the Everglades and Florida Bay.²⁴
Drew Bartlett, executive director of the South Florida Water Management District, put the scale in perspective.
"Three billion gallons per day take all the water supply systems in South Florida from Miami to Kissimmee, add them together — that's 1.1 billion. This pump station alone is nearly three times that," Bartlett said.²⁵
The water will move through a 6,500-acre stormwater treatment area where vegetation filters out nutrients before the clean water flows south into the central Everglades.²⁶
This addresses the root problem that has plagued South Florida for decades — excess Lake Okeechobee water that had nowhere to go except east and west through harmful discharges.
By capturing and treating that water, then sending it south where it naturally flowed before decades of flood control engineering, the system restores the Everglades' natural hydrology.
The improved flow will benefit Florida Bay by helping stabilize salinity levels, support the Biscayne Aquifer that supplies drinking water to millions in South Florida, and significantly reduce the toxic algae blooms that devastated coastal communities.²⁷
Florida Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Alexis Lambert said the pump station is "more than a construction project."
"It's a key piece that makes the crown jewel of Everglades restoration possible," Lambert stated.²⁸
Anna Upton, CEO of the Everglades Trust, praised the accelerated timeline as a "sea change."
"From day one, Governor DeSantis directed state agencies to expedite Everglades restoration whenever possible," Upton said.²⁹
The contrast between state and federal efficiency couldn't be starker.
Florida has delivered Everglades restoration projects 6 to 7 years faster than federal timelines and under budget.³⁰
Under Biden, federal projects faced massive delays from bureaucratic red tape and Interior Department obstruction.³¹
Now with Trump back in office and cutting deals directly with DeSantis, Florida is finally getting the support needed to complete America's most ambitious environmental restoration project.
DeSantis summed it up perfectly at the groundbreaking: "We really appreciate the collaboration and the partnership we have with our federal partners and really thank the Army Corps."³²
Translation: With Biden gone and Trump in charge, Florida can actually get things done.
¹ Florida Department of Environmental Protection, "Governor Ron DeSantis Celebrates Continued Everglades Restoration Momentum," November 6, 2025.
² Joel Malkin, "Gov. DeSantis Hosts Groundbreaking For New 3-Billion Gallon Pump Station," News 96.5 WDBO, November 6, 2025.
³ Ibid.
⁴ Florida Governor's Office, "Governor Ron DeSantis Announces Landmark Agreement with U.S. Department of the Army," July 18, 2025.
⁵ Sophie Pendrill and Katie Bente, "Pump station to move 3 billion gallons of water from Lake Okeechobee to Everglades daily," CBS12, November 6, 2025.
⁶ Ibid.
⁷ Captains For Clean Water, "The various impacts of Lake Okeechobee discharges," February 29, 2024.
⁸ NASA Earth Observatory, "Bloom in Lake Okeechobee," July 6, 2016.
⁹ Captains For Clean Water, "The various impacts of Lake Okeechobee discharges," February 29, 2024.
¹⁰ The Wave, "The Pollution of Lake Okeechobee," May 3, 2023.
¹¹ Center for Biological Diversity, "Florida's Toxic Algae," accessed November 7, 2025.
¹² Florida Governor's Office, "Governor Ron DeSantis Announces Landmark Agreement with U.S. Department of the Army," July 18, 2025.
¹³ Florida Governor's Office, "Governor Ron DeSantis Celebrates Continued Everglades Restoration Projects," September 22, 2025.
¹⁴ Ibid.
¹⁵ Ibid.
¹⁶ Ibid.
¹⁷ Florida Governor's Office, "Governor Ron DeSantis Celebrates Continued Everglades Restoration Momentum," November 6, 2025.
¹⁸ Florida Daily, "DeSantis Joins Officials at Groundbreaking for Key Everglades Project," November 6, 2025.
¹⁹ Marco News, "DeSantis pens deal for Florida to lead Everglades reservoir project with Army Corps," July 21, 2025.
²⁰ Gabrielle Russon, "Gov. DeSantis announces landmark deal on Everglades restoration, praising Donald Trump," Florida Politics, July 19, 2025.
²¹ Florida Governor's Office, "Governor Ron DeSantis Announces Landmark Agreement with U.S. Department of the Army," July 18, 2025.
²² Ibid.
²³ Tampa FP, "New Agreement With Army Corps Puts Florida Everglades Restoration On The Fast Track," September 11, 2025.
²⁴ Florida Daily, "DeSantis Joins Officials at Groundbreaking for Key Everglades Project," November 6, 2025.
²⁵ Sophie Pendrill and Katie Bente, "Pump station to move 3 billion gallons of water from Lake Okeechobee to Everglades daily," CBS12, November 6, 2025.
²⁶ – ²⁹ Ibid.
³⁰ Florida Governor's Office, "Governor Ron DeSantis Announces Landmark Agreement with U.S. Department of the Army," July 18, 2025.
³¹ Ibid.
³² Sophie Pendrill and Katie Bente, "Pump station to move 3 billion gallons of water from Lake Okeechobee to Everglades daily," CBS12, November 6, 2025.
