C-43 Reservoir in Hendry County not expected to be fully operational until 2028

HENDRY COUNTY, Fla. —

Stephen Oliva remembers the sight — and the smell — behind his workplace in 2018.

“There was like a sludge all over the surface all the way out,” he described.

It was hard to forget. Blue-green algae covered canals in Cape Coral like a lime-green carpet.

“I had customers come into the store that actually were moving out of here,” Oliva recalled. "It was bothering their eyes and they're breathing and everything.”

JULY 2025: THE CELEBRATION OF A SOLUTION

Fast forward to this past summer. In July 2025, Gov. Ron DeSantis marked the opening of the C-43 Reservoir, a massive, 10,000-acre reservoir west of LaBelle.

The $1 billion project, which was plagued by years of delays, was finally unveiled in a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

It was a celebration of what was billed as the solution to the water problems on the Gulf Coast.

“2018 probably would never have happened if we had this infrastructure in place,” DeSantis said in a press conference at the event.

The C-43 is designed to capture runoff and water releases from Lake Okeechobee during the rainy season, clean the water while it’s being stored and then release it down the Caloosahatchee River during the dry season.

When it will actually accomplish all that is not yet clear.

‘IT’S EMPTY’: RESERVOIR NOT FULLY OPERATIONAL YET

"Just because it's done being built doesn't mean it's open and functioning,” Matt DePaolis told Gulf Coast News.

"It's empty, and it's not doing us much good right now,” Joe Cavanaugh said.

Cavanaugh is the Calusa Waterkeeper. Drone footage captured by Gulf Coast News confirmed what he pointed out: there is not much water in the reservoir right now.

“It's not up and running yet, so we don't know what the benefits are going to be,” Cavanaugh said.

"Right now, I think it would make all the difference,” DePaolis, environmental policy director for the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation, explained. “If we had a full reservoir right now, this would be solving our problems in the estuary.”

FRESHWATER FLOWS REMAIN LOW IN THE ESTUARY

Amid an ongoing drought, freshwater flows down the Caloosahatchee River are low right now, meaning saltwater from the Gulf continues to push upriver.

Because of that, DePaolis has major concerns about crucial species.

"When we're talking about stressing our oysters and tape grass, we're really talking about the entire ecosystem hanging in the balance,” DePaolis said. “This is really pushing for a recovery that's looking like a yearslong process.”

Without water available from the C-43 Reservoir, DePaolis has been advocating for releases from Lake Okeechobee for the past several months.

“We have a reliance on these resources for not only our livelihood and our way of life, but our entire coastal economy runs on clean water and the resources that are associated with it,” he said.

ARMY CORPS: ‘OPERATIONS SCHEDULED TO BEGIN IN 2028’

The South Florida Water Management District would not allow a visit to the site or provide an interview, but the district has acknowledged in public meetings that the reservoir is “not currently fully operational.”

The reservoir “has now entered the testing phase,” a spokesperson said in part in a statement to Gulf Coast News, adding that “we will use it to supply the water when water is available.”

A spokesperson for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers sent an updated fact sheet to Gulf Coast News, which provided a clear time frame.

“Initial fill of the reservoir will take place over the following two wet seasons with operations scheduled to begin in 2028,” the fact sheet reads in part.

Even when it is fully up and running, Cavanaugh cautions that it's just one part of the solution to the water problems.

“It's one more tool in the toolbox that could help. But again, it's just one tool in that box,” he said. “To overemphasize how much it will be able to do is kind of a dangerous precedent."

After Gulf Coast News sent follow-up questions to the SFWMD, a spokesperson sent an additional statement:

"It is important to clarify that the C-43 Reservoir is open and operational. As announced in July, it transitioned into its planned initial fill and testing phase, which is the standard operational process for projects of this scale.

Since entering operations, water has moved into the reservoir as part of the initial fill and testing process. That work began immediately upon opening and is continuing as conditions allow.

However, the region has since experienced extended below-average rainfall and persistent dry conditions. Under those circumstances, available water must first meet the needs of the natural system and regional water users. Because of that priority and the limited supply of excess water normally available, efforts to continue the initial fill or to release water to the Caloosahatchee Estuary have been temporarily limited.

In fact, these abnormally dry conditions prompted the South Florida Water Management District (District) to issue a water shortage warning for several counties, including Lee and Glades counties. The broader regional water conditions were discussed during the February 12, 2026 Governing Board Meeting.

The District, in coordination with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, remains prepared to resume filling as soon as excess rainfall provides additional water."

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