A newly completed canal system is now steering millions of gallons of water away from the St. Lucie Estuary, marking the end of a project that state and local officials say has already diverted 5 billion gallons since testing began in May. Governor Ron DeSantis joined state and local partners to celebrate completion of the C-23 Estuary Discharge Diversion Project, which reroutes excess water from the C-23 Canal away from the South Fork of the St. Lucie River and into a nearby reservoir system built to hold and treat it.
The project, officially designated canal C-457, spans nearly seven miles across three segments and includes the S-457 Northern Inflow Pump Station along the C-23 Canal, culvert crossings, and the S-460 Southern Fixed Weir Spillway, according to Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch. Diverted water flows into the C-44 Reservoir and Stormwater Treatment Area complex in Martin County, a 3,400-acre reservoir the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers finished in November 2021, alongside an adjacent 6,300-acre Stormwater Treatment Area that together can store 60,500 acre-feet of water, per the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District. In his statement, posted via Ron DeSantis
, DeSantis said Florida has a duty to leave the state better than it was found and has prioritized responsible stewardship of the state's natural environment.
Years in the Making
Years in the Making The project was described in July 2022, and its completion was announced in September 2026. Operational testing began in May, and nearly 5 billion gallons were diverted, according to DeSantis's post. Once fully online, the canal is expected to reduce more natural water flows and further limit harmful discharges into the estuary, which the governor's office describes as a vital resource for Floridians who live, work, and fish in the area.
The C-23 project sits inside the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan's Indian River Lagoon South program, a joint federal-state effort authorized by Congress in the Water Resources Development Act of 2007. Total estimated costs for that broader IRL-S initiative have climbed to $5.53 billion by 2025, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District. The IRL-S program also includes the C-23/C-24 Stormwater Treatment Area. The South Reservoir is also mentioned in the broader program, per the South Florida Water Management District.
Why the Estuary Needed Relief
Excessive freshwater discharges into the St. Lucie Estuary throw off its natural saline balance, killing estuarine vegetation and aquatic organisms while dumping high concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus that fuel toxic algae blooms, according to Sebastian Daily. A study by Florida Atlantic University researchers published in Harmful Algae found that cyanobacterial blooms across the Lake Okeechobee Waterway and St. Lucie Estuary are driven by both nitrogen and phosphorus, with human wastewater playing a significant role alongside agricultural runoff, according to Florida Atlantic University.
Those blooms are not hypothetical, with harmful algal blooms documented in the region. The C-23 diversion is designed to reduce harmful discharges into the estuary.
A Bigger, Costlier Push
State officials frame the C-23 completion as one piece of a much larger campaign. Florida has completed or broken ground on more than 90 Everglades restoration projects and invested nearly $9.5 billion in restoration and water quality during DeSantis's administration, per his statement. Those investments have reduced 5.6 million pounds of nitrogen and nearly 1 million pounds of phosphorus annually and helped Florida Bay reach salinity targets.
The state has also completed the C-44 Reservoir and Stormwater Treatment Area, according to the same statement. Florida is accelerating construction of the Everglades Agricultural Area Reservoir, which will store 78 billion gallons of water. That reservoir is projected for completion in 2029, per DeSantis.
DeSantis's current funding push includes state commitments to Everglades restoration, according to the South Florida Water Management District. Those state commitments sit inside the much larger Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, a federal-state program.
What's Left Unfinished
Not every piece of the regional puzzle is built yet. The broader regional restoration effort also references a South Reservoir. Officials describe the C-23 project as benefiting fishing families, coastal communities, tourism, businesses, and the Floridians who depend on the state's natural resources, and say the state will keep working with state, local, and federal partners to advance Everglades restoration and protect water resources for future generations.
