Stormwater Treatment  Areas

The stormwater treatment areas are man-made wetlands designed to clean up nutrients primarily from surrounding agricultural areas before the runoff reaches the Everglades. Levees and canals ring the perimeter of the treatment areas. The treatment areas are divided into several cells. Some have open water with submerged aquatic vegetation, and others have very dense cattail growth. The variety provides for varying degrees of water quality treatment to maximize the cleanup.

South Florida's 62,000 acres of STAs have prevented more than 3,400 metric tons of phosphorus from entering the Everglades, reducing phosphorus loads by 77.4 percent since 1994. The STAs vast treatment areas of wetland habitat have also encouraged the return of many native animal and bird species, often visible to recreational visitors.