A canal restoration project has been underway in the Florida Keys to improve the health of the water.
“It’s a technique called backfilling,” said Chief Resilience Officer Rhonda Haag. “It’s a canal restoration, so we come in and bring truckloads of fill-in and backfill it to a depth of about seven feet.”
Monroe County officials said a 2014 study showed that 311 of the 502 canals throughout the island chain did not meet the state’s minimum water quality criteria. A Canal Management Master Plan was developed to list the canals in need of restoration
One of the first canals to be filled in was in the Sexton Cove neighborhood of Key Largo, where many of the man-made canals are approximately 40 feet deep. It is now at about the same depth as the open water of Blackwater Sound.
“When the tide comes in and out it flushes the entire canal depth, you get that really good oxygen flow in there,” Haag said.
Longtime resident Inge Richardson said it took about a year for the water to clear, but she now can see seagrass and marine life.
“Oh, I see plants growing down there, fish swimming g around,” she said.
State funding is helping the work continue. Two more canals are currently in the process of being finished.
As part of the Florida Keys Stewardship Act, the Florida Keys received a direct appropriation of $20 million for the fiscal year 2022-23 to address the issues recognized as environmental priorities.
“Just like you and I need oxygen to breathe, so does marine life,” Haag said.