Water district is doing things for itself on Caloosahatchee reservoir - News-Press

Water district is doing things for itself on Caloosahatchee reservoir

C-43 update: What's happening at the Caloosahatchee River's reservoir?
Amy Bennett Williams

As two lawsuits simmer in the background, work continues at the $560-million Caloosahatchee reservoir. And from the conflict may come a new way of doing things for the South Florida Water Management District, which is in charge of building it.

Designed to keep the river healthier, the massive project hit a rough patch earlier this year.

After chronic conflict, warnings and failed negotiations, the district fired the contractor heading up the work at the 10,700-acre Hendry County site, once home to the Berry Citrus Groves. Less than a mile from the river across S.R. 80 on the south side, the giant lake will be connected to it by the Townsend Canal. When complete, the 20-foot-deep, 18-square-mile reservoir will hold 55 billion gallons of water behind 19 miles of embankments, with 15 miles of canals.

Why is the reservoir being built?

Known also as C-43, the Caloosahatchee River is a much-engineered link between Lake Okeechobee and the Gulf of Mexico that regularly suffers from too little freshwater in the dry season and too much polluted discharge from Lake Okeechobee (to drain the lake) the rest of the year. It starts as a straight canal off Lake Okeechobee but used to be a natural river.

By storing storm flows, then replenishing the thirsty river during the dry season, hopes are the Caloosahatchee and its estuary will stay cleaner.

After the district fired the contractor, an international group known as C-43 Water Management Builders, Lane Construction or Webuild, the contractor sued the district and the district sued the contractor as river advocates worried the legal quarrels might derail the project.

They won’t, district officials promise. Finishing the reservoir is a top priority. Once complete, it will “play a significant role in protecting the water resources of the Caloosahatchee River and estuary and sustaining our way of life in Southwest Florida,” district spokesman Jason Schultz wrote in an email. “It’s been long promised to the people of Southwest Florida, and it needs to come online as soon as possible.

Could trouble with the project bring change?

In fact, all the trouble may yield a strategy change, suggests Governing Board Chair Chauncey Goss: Instead of turning over the reins to a single company to manage the work and myriad subcontractors, in the future, the district might take control itself, as it's doing now.

After the firing, 20 subcontractors and some 150 workers kept things going, Bartlett reported to the board in June, and at the most recent meeting, he reported that things continued on track, even without a lead contractor.

Meanwhile, as of mid-August, there were now 30 contractors at work, Bartlett said. The direct dealings are going well, said Schultz in an email. “We’re pleased with the progress being made on the site, and we’re going to continue strong oversight to keep the project advancing quickly.”

Bonus: “We expect the project to be completed sooner than it would have been based on the slow pace of the previous general contractor.”

'Breach of contract' 'Protecting the taxpayers': Florida water district sues fired builder on C-43 reservoir project

As he watched the process unfold, Goss says he found himself thinking, “Why don’t we do this more often?”

Yes, it’s a lot of work, he acknowledges, “but staff is doing a really great job,” he said. “So I think this deserves further exploration.”