Southern Florida – Congressman Mario Díaz-Balart (FL-26), who has represented Florida’s 26th District in the U.S. Congress since 2003 and previously served in both the Florida House of Representatives and Senate, has expressed support for recent actions by Governor Ron DeSantis and the Trump Administration to accelerate Everglades restoration efforts.
Last month, Governor DeSantis announced that the C-43 Reservoir was completed and introduced a new agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to speed up work on the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) Reservoir. Díaz-Balart stated, “Throughout my public service career, I have remained steadfast in my dedication to restoring and preserving America’s Everglades. Governor DeSantis’ recent announcements build on the groundwork I laid over the years. As I have consistently worked to cut bureaucratic red tape across federal agencies, I applaud Governor DeSantis for leading the State of Florida in negotiating a crucial agreement with the Corps to accelerate a monumental project within the Central Everglades Restoration Plan; this project is essential for protecting the drinking water of over 9 million Floridians.”
He added, “With President Trump at the helm, and Florida’s strong leadership committed to restoring the Everglades, I look forward to advancing President Trump’s America First vision. This includes securing $461 million for Everglades Restoration in the FY26 Energy & Water House Appropriations bill, passed by the Committee on July 17th, which exceeds the $446 million requested—the largest presidential budget request in U.S. history for Everglades Restoration.”
The Caloosahatchee (C-43) Reservoir is a 10,000-acre facility intended to improve water quality and expand storage capacity in Florida. Its pump station can move up to 650,000 gallons per minute and is now operational. Díaz-Balart played a role in securing authorization for this reservoir through H.R. 3080, known as the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014.
Díaz-Balart also worked toward authorizing the EAA Reservoir with S.3021—America’s Water and Infrastructure Act of 2018—and helped secure federal funding for South Florida ecosystem restoration projects.
The new agreement aims to advance completion of the EAA Reservoir from its original timeline in 2034 to an earlier date in 2029. The project will be able to store more than 78 billion gallons of water and deliver between 270–470 billion gallons annually into regional ecosystems including Biscayne Aquifer and Florida Bay.
Florida will be responsible for building inflow/outflow pump stations and working on related flow ways while oversight remains with federal authorities.
Díaz-Balart was born in Fort Lauderdale in 1961 and currently lives in Miami. He graduated from University of South Florida with a bachelor’s degree.
