A controlled detonation in Florida paved the way for a gigantic reservoir, repurposing the very rock from the construction while the project attempts to restore water flow to the Everglades and reduce coastal discharges.
The United States Army Corps of Engineers conducted, on May 13, 2026, a large-scale controlled detonation at the Everglades Agricultural Area Reservoir site, near Belle Glade, in southern Florida.
The operation used about 2,700 drillings and 140,000 pounds of explosives, equivalent to approximately 63.5 metric tons, to fragment and displace the rocky material found beneath the terrain.
Almost 270,000 cubic yards of material, or approximately 206,000 cubic meters, were moved during the intervention.
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The volume would be enough to fill more than 80 Olympic-sized swimming pools of 2.5 million liters each.
The removed rock will not be treated merely as excavation waste.
After being processed on-site, it is expected to be used in the construction of the dike that will surround the future reservoir, reducing the need to transport some of these materials through thousands of truck trips.
According to the Corps of Engineers, the displaced volume would require more than 20,000 vehicle loads with a capacity of 20 tons.
Placed in sequence, these trucks would form a line approximately 225 kilometers long, a distance close to the route between Belle Glade and Orlando.
The explosion is part of a planned project to store water from Lake Okeechobee, treat it, and send it towards the center and south of the Everglades.
The reservoir is still under construction and is scheduled for completion in December 2029.
Detonation cleared space for the reservoir foundation
The detonation was not intended to form the dam or the area where the water will be stored all at once.
The procedure is part of the foundation preparation, a stage where teams remove unsuitable soils, fragment the rock, and create a base capable of supporting the large embankment of the reservoir.
The contract responsible for this phase includes land clearing, removal of organic material, detonations, foundation preparation, filling of existing channels, and installation of an underground barrier intended to control seepage.
The future structure will have a perimeter dike approximately 27.8 kilometers long.
The foundation prepared in this stage covers approximately 24.6 kilometers of the route, while other parts of the work include channels, pumping stations, and structures to control the entry and exit of water.
The Corps of Engineers described the May operation as the largest non-electric shot loaded, connected, and fired within a single work shift on the project.
The agency also ranked it among the largest controlled construction detonations ever conducted.
Although the number of explosives is high, the intervention was divided among thousands of holes.
This arrangement allows the energy to be distributed across the rock mass according to an engineering plan, rather than concentrating it in a single point.
The execution was the responsibility of trained professionals and followed defined safety protocols for the site.
The official record reported no damage outside the work area nor any injuries during the operation.
Removed rock will be transformed into a dike
The geology of the Everglades Agricultural Area includes layers of limestone rock with different levels of hardness.
Previous technical studies already indicated that part of this material could be selected and processed for use in reservoir components, such as slope protection, drainage, and aggregates.
After the detonation, the rocks need to be broken, separated, and evaluated.
Not every fragment removed from the ground automatically has the required characteristics to be part of a water containment structure.
Granulometry, resistance, durability, and behavior in the presence of moisture are among the factors that need to be considered.
The selected material must meet the applicable safety standards for the reservoir.
On-site reuse reduces the transportation of rock between quarries and the construction site.
It also transforms an excavation stage into a source of raw material for the dike, provided the selected fragments meet technical specifications.
The structure described in the statement as a “rock dam” does not correspond to a hydroelectric dam with turbines.
It is a large containment dike, built to keep water stored above the flat terrain of South Florida.
Reservoir will occupy 10,500 acres south of Lake Okeechobee
The storage component will cover approximately 10,500 acres, equivalent to about 4,250 hectares.
Next to it, a stormwater treatment area occupies another 6,500 acres, or approximately 2,630 hectares.
Together, the structures form a complex of about 17,000 acres.
The reservoir will be built by the Army Corps of Engineers, while the South Florida Water Management District is responsible for the treatment area and other components associated with water transportation.
The designed capacity is 240,000 acre-feet, a volume exceeding 78 billion gallons, approximately 295 billion liters.
The operational depth and the large extent of the land will allow water to be stored during periods of excess and released according to system conditions.
The project also plans to send up to 470 billion gallons of clean water per year to the Everglades and Florida Bay.
This total does not correspond to the volume simultaneously maintained in the reservoir, but to the amount that can pass annually through the system in different cycles of storage, treatment, and release.
An inlet pumping station, whose construction began in November 2025, was designed to move approximately 3 billion gallons of water per day from Lake Okeechobee to the complex.
Old works altered the natural flow of the Everglades
Before the expansion of cities, farms, roads, canals, and dikes, water overflowed from Lake Okeechobee and slowly moved south through the Everglades.
Works carried out throughout the 20th century altered this flow to control floods and make room for agriculture and urban occupation.
As a result, parts of the swamp began to receive less water, while excess volumes were sent to the estuaries of the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers.
These discharges can bring fresh water and nutrients to coastal regions at inappropriate times.
At the same time, areas in the central and southern Everglades may face periods of water scarcity.
The reservoir is intended to function as a large waiting area.
During periods of excess, part of the water will be stored instead of being immediately released to Florida’s east and west coasts.
Before heading to the swamp, the liquid must pass through the treatment area built next to the reservoir.
In it, vegetation and physical and biological processes will be used to reduce nutrient concentrations, especially phosphorus.
The goal is to approximate the system’s operation to the historical flow towards the south, but through canals, pumps, treatment areas, and control structures, and not by simply removing all existing works.
Treatment area began receiving water in 2024
The South Florida Water Management District began early construction of the treatment area in April 2020.
Filling began in January 2024, while the main reservoir remained under construction.
The construction of the 10,500-acre reservoir officially began in February 2023.
The project is divided into contracts dedicated to canals, foundation, perimeter dike, and water control structures.
The first package, related to inlet, outlet, and seepage control canals, was completed.
The foundation preparation is scheduled to finish in March 2028, while the contract for the dike and hydraulic structures is due for completion in December 2029.
The previous forecast pointed to 2034.
An agreement signed between Florida and the United States Army Corps of Engineers advanced the goal by five years and redistributed responsibilities between state and federal governments.
“Each year we gain represents another year of clean water flowing south,” stated Major General Jason Kelly, deputy commander of the Corps of Engineers, during the announcement of the accelerated schedule.
Project integrates restoration plan initiated in 2000
The reservoir is part of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, approved by the United States Congress in 2000 to reorganize the storage, treatment, and distribution of water in South Florida.
The initiative brings together dozens of state and federal projects.
Its goal is to repair some of the changes caused by decades of drainage, canal construction, and urban and agricultural expansion.
The Everglades system also provides drinking water, reduces flood impacts, and supports habitats used by endangered species.
Today, only about half of the ecosystem’s historical extent remains.
The estimated cost of the reservoir component and treatment area was calculated at approximately US$ 3.9 billion in the documents and surveys released before the most recent schedule acceleration.
The financial and environmental scale makes the project a target for technical monitoring and questioning.
Experts and environmental groups consulted by the Associated Press raised doubts about the final size of the reservoir and its ability to produce, on its own, all the expected improvements in water quality.
The current reservoir is smaller than previous proposals for the same region.
Critics argue that the depth and available area may limit treatment, while project officials maintain that the structure will be a central piece of a system formed by several interconnected works.
