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Central Everglades Planning Project Operation Plan: A Mouthful, but a Critical Step Forward for Long-Term Everglades Health
The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) has a lot of moving parts — numerous separate projects with a dizzying array of acronyms! Here we showcase one of these projects: CEPP 1.0
In 2000, Congress passed the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan — a blueprint to return health and resilience to the River of Grass. With such a vast territory of overlapping restoration initiatives, longterm planning with partners across the ecosystem is critical. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in cooperation with the South Florida Water Management District, continues to move forward with one plan to operate the lower part of the system: the Central Everglades Planning Project Operational Plan. We call it CEPP 1.0.
What are the Goals of CEPP 1.0?
CEPP 1.0 supports the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan through gradual improvements to the quantity, quality, timing, and distribution of water that flows from the northern estuaries, Water Conservation Areas, Everglades National Park, and Florida Bay. At the same time, CEPP 1.0 aims to increase water supply for municipal, industrial, and agricultural users.
Give Me the Details!
CEPP 1.0 will implement updated operating criteria for Central Everglades Planning Project infrastructure, including the Tamiami Trail, while integrating planning criteria from the updated Lake Okeechobee System Operating Manual. One of the goals of CEPP 1.0 is to raise the acceptable water levels in the L-29 Canal, which will allow more fresh water to flow from the Central Everglades and into Everglades National Park.
So Where are We Exactly?
Modeling Work: Complete
Implementation: Spring 2027
Future Planning: As major projects come online (like the Everglades Agricultural Area Reservoir), CEPP 1.0 will continue to be refined and implemented.
Overall Significance: CEPP 1.0 is an example of adaptive management, as it builds on previous planning initiatives. Audubon hopes its successful implementation will lead to cleaner, more natural water flows across the Everglades system.
This infographic originally appeared in the Spring 2026 State of the Everglades Report.