Critics say water quality problems could have been avoided

Some of the water quality issues South Florida has been plagued with the past three years could have been avoided if the federal government had funded its share of Everglades restoration projects. 

That's what critics of federal spending say, that the blue-green algae and red tide that have gripped much of the state this year may have been prevented if the federal government wasn't about $1 billion behind on Everglades funding. 

"If funding had been provided as outlined in the Everglades restoration plan back (in the late 1990s), a lot of these water issues would have been addressed already," said Aaron Adams, with the Bonefish and Tarpon Trust. "And not putting adequate money in the system now continues to hinder progress." 

The South Florida Water Management District built a web page devoted to the spending gap. 

More:Congressman Francis Rooney on water quality: 'It's not a pretty sight'

More:Water district budget set at $813 million, Caloosahatchee reservoir gets $146 million

It shows that the state has spent more than $200 million on the Caloosahatchee reservoir, a project designed to capture, store and release about 55 billion gallons of water.

Water from the reservoir will be released during dry times to help meet regulations designed to protect the river and its estuary. 

The federal government, by comparison, has spent just under $38 million on the same project. 

With Florida lawmakers setting aside $146 million for the reservoir in the upcoming year, the project would nearly be funded now if the federal government had matched the state's $200 million.

Recent water quality issues sprouted in the winter of 2016, when heavy El Niño rains dumped more than a foot of water across much of the state during the middle of the dry season. 

Those rains led to algae blooms in the historic Everglades, which stretches from just south of Orlando to the Florida Keys. 

Hurricane Irma hit in September 2017 and stirred up nutrients in the system that have fed both the blue green and red tide outbreaks. 

This year a double-whammy of blue-green algae and red tide have smothered the Southwest coast, killing off millions of pounds of marine wildlife and tanking the local tourism-driven economy. 

U.S. Rep. Frances Rooney, R-Naples, talked about the funding gap earlier this week at a Chamber of Commerce meeting in Fort Myers. 

Rooney said the federal government has been too lax when it comes to environmental dollars for Florida. 

In case you missed it:Water advocates worried Caloosahatchee reservoir costs may be going up

More:Rooney tours Everglades to gain support for restoration projects

"I’m a little irritated that ... we’ve went 16 years with paltry appropriations to the dike and to" Everglades restoration, Rooney said. "We’re talking about $20 million here, $40 million there. You’re not going to move the ball, you’re not going to get a first down with that money." 

Rooney said he's already pushing for at least $300 million from the feds in 2020 to "do the things we can do to slow the discharges to the Caloosahatchee during high rains."

"It’s supposed to be 50-50," Rooney said of Everglades restoration project funding. "It seems to be logical that the feds match that and start whittling down this over-investment" on the state's end.

How will that gap be made up? 

Some speculate that it will take legislation like President Donald Trump signed last week. 

Those acts come out every five or seven years, if then. 

"That’s always been predicated on federal cost share, so we’ll probably have to pass another (Water Resources and Development Act, or WRDA) bill to get the funding, but when’s that going to happen," Calusa Waterkeeper John Cassani said. 

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is the federal agency in charge of Everglades restoration and is responsible for half the costs. 

Corps leaders say they're not in charge of spending and that the blame should fall on lawmakers who decide how tax dollars should be used.

"I think that question is up to the Congress," said Corps of Engineers spokesman John Campbell. "The Corps of Engineers executes the money we receive from Congress, but it’s acknowledged by all parties where we’re in a phase where the state is spending more than the federal government."

Adams said the projects are well worth the costs, both for the environment and the economy. 

"One of the complaints is the restoration is going to cost a lot of money, but just the recreational fishing in the Everglades area exceeds $1 billion a year," Adams said. "If someone told me I could invest $1 billion or $2 billion and I’d get 1 billion in return every year, that would be a pretty good investment."

Connect with this reporter: Chad Gillis on Twitter.