The Everglades Foundation is touting the economic benefits of water storage south of Lake Okeechobee.
The Everglades Foundation claims a southern reservoir would make a bigger impact on water quality than water storage north of the lake. CEO Eric Eikenberg argues property values in the everglades agricultural area, or EAA, could rise significantly.
“The EAA southern reservoir will add more than $19 billion in real estate values in Lee County and Martin Counties alone,” Eikenberg says.
The study stands at odds with reports from the James Madison Institute—a free-market oriented think tank advocating water storage north of Lake Okeechobee instead. JMI argues Florida’s economy could lose seven hundred million dollars by taking agricultural land out of production, but Eikenberg argues benefits far outweigh the costs. Southern water storage is priority for Senate President Joe Negron.
