Florida’s water headlines can feel like a never-ending loop: algae, discharges, murky estuaries, and the question of why it keeps happening. We sit down with Steve Davis, Chief Science Officer at the Everglades Foundation, to map the problem back to its source and explain what it actually takes to move cleaner water the way nature intended. Along the way, we connect the dots between Lake Okeechobee, the Caloosahatchee, Florida Bay, and the communities that live on tourism, fishing, recreation, and waterfront life.

Steve walks us through how South Florida’s wetlands were drained and compartmentalized over decades, why the system got pushed to dump water east and west, and how that “double whammy” of volume plus pollution damages both ecosystems and the economy. Then we get concrete about solutions: the Everglades Agricultural Area Reservoir south of the lake, its adjoining treatment wetlands, and why this 17,000-acre build is often described as heart bypass surgery for the Everglades. We also talk about the C-43 reservoir, why massive water infrastructure requires careful operational testing, and how storage projects replace the natural storage wetlands used to provide.

We don’t skip the hard part either: funding and authorization. Everglades restoration is a state-federal partnership that needs steady annual support, plus community awareness so policies don’t undermine progress. Steve also shares how education fits in, including the Everglades Foundation’s K-12 literacy program reaching students across Florida, and why the Everglades is more than scenery it’s a trillion-dollar asset in ecosystem services like water supply, storm surge protection, tourism, and real estate value. If you care about clean water in Southwest Florida and beyond, subscribe, share this conversation, and leave a review so more neighbors can find it.

The Everglades Foundation
Steve Davis
18001 Old Cutler Road, Suite 625 Palmetto Bay, Florida 33157
info@evergladesfoundation.org
evergladesfoundation.org

State Insurance USA
4450 Camino Real Way Ft Myers, FL 33966
239-567-9992
100 Lovers Ln 3rd Floor Ft Myers Beach, FL 33931
(239) 690-6300
office@StateInsuranceUSA.com
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