SFWMD’s C-43 Reservoir Project: Understanding the Hendry and Glades County Acquisitions

One of the largest water storage projects in Florida’s history is taking shape on former farmland west of LaBelle. The South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) is building the Caloosahatchee River (C-43) West Basin Storage Reservoir, a roughly $905 million reservoir that will hold about 170,000 acre-feet of water across thousands of acres in Hendry County, with related water quality work reaching into Glades County.

Projects this size do not sit on government land alone. They require private property, and that is where Florida eminent domain law enters the picture. If you own land, a business, a ranch, or grove acreage anywhere near this footprint, the legal rules that govern how the government acquires property and what it must pay you matter a great deal.

This post explains the C-43 project in plain terms, shows why it reaches into both Hendry and Glades counties, and walks through the rights Florida law gives property owners. For a fuller overview of the firm’s work in this area, see our Florida eminent domain attorneys page.

The Short Version for Property Owners

Here is what matters most if you own property near the C-43 project:

• The reservoir is a public works project, so the agencies behind it can use eminent domain to acquire land they cannot buy through a voluntary sale.
• Florida’s constitution guarantees you full compensation, which is a broader standard than the federal “just compensation.”
• Full compensation can include more than the raw land value. It can reach severance damages, business damages, and your attorney’s fees and costs.
• A first offer is an opening number, not the final word.
• Deadlines are real. Some rights are waived if you do not respond in time.

What Is the C-43 Reservoir Project?

The Caloosahatchee River (C-43) West Basin Storage Reservoir is a component of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP). Congress authorized the reservoir in the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project fact sheet.

The reservoir is designed to do two things at once. During the wet season, it captures excess runoff from the C-43 basin and regulatory releases from Lake Okeechobee that would otherwise rush into the Caloosahatchee Estuary. During the dry season, it releases that stored water back to the estuary to balance salinity and protect fish and wildlife.

A few numbers tell the scale of the effort:

• Storage capacity: approximately 170,000 acre-feet, which is roughly 57 billion gallons.
• Estimated total cost: about $904,995,000 (the Corps lists this in its 2025 fact sheet).
• Location: an aboveground reservoir in the C-43 basin in Hendry County.
• Timeline: construction completion was scheduled for December 2025, with operational testing and monitoring to follow in 2026 and 2027.

SFWMD is the local sponsor leading construction, working in close coordination with the Corps. The District has reported investing roughly $118 million to purchase land, build and monitor test cells, and complete the design, as described in its Caloosahatchee River and Estuary fact sheet.

Why the Project Reaches Into Both Hendry and Glades Counties

The reservoir itself sits in Hendry County, but the broader restoration effort touches Glades County too. Understanding the split helps explain why owners in both counties may hear from public agencies.

The Hendry County Reservoir Footprint

The reservoir and its supporting features occupy thousands of acres of former agricultural land in Hendry County, west of LaBelle. The project includes large storage cells, pump stations, a perimeter canal, water control structures, and improvements to nearby infrastructure. Building features like these is land-hungry by nature. A single storage cell can span thousands of acres, and the canals, levees, and maintenance roads around it widen the footprint further.

The Glades County Water Quality Component

The work does not stop at the county line. The District and Lee County acquired about 1,773 acres in Glades County for a water quality treatment and testing facility designed to remove nitrogen from water headed to the estuary. That acquisition shows how a single regional project can pull in land across more than one county, often for purposes most owners would not expect, such as treatment cells rather than the reservoir itself.

For owners, the practical takeaway is simple. Condemnation tied to a regional water project is not limited to the parcel where the headline structure is built. Supporting features, easements, and access needs can reach properties miles away. Many of these issues overlap with eminent domain and condemnation issues that sit within our broader real estate transactions and disputes practice.

How Does Eminent Domain Work in Florida?

Eminent domain is the government’s power to take private property for public use. In Florida, that power comes with two hard requirements written into the state constitution. Under Article X, Section 6 of the Florida Constitution, private property cannot be taken except for a public purpose, and the owner must receive full compensation.

Two points deserve attention.

First, the taking has to serve a genuine public purpose. Water storage, flood control, and environmental restoration comfortably qualify, so the legal fight in a project like C-43 is rarely about whether the agency can take property. It is usually about how much the agency must pay.

Second, Florida uses the words full compensation, not the “just compensation” found in the federal Constitution. The difference is not just style. Florida courts read full compensation broadly, and that broader reading is exactly why experienced counsel adds value for owners.

Agencies with this power are not limited to SFWMD. The State, water management districts, counties, municipalities, and certain utilities all hold condemnation authority. If you want the basics in one place, our overview of the eminent domain process for Florida commercial property owners is a good starting point, as is our explainer on eminent domain versus condemnation.

What Does “Full Compensation” Actually Cover?

When people hear “fair market value,” they assume the conversation begins and ends with what the land would sell for. In a Florida condemnation, it goes further. The general procedures live in Chapter 73 of the Florida Statutes, and the law includes several categories that owners often miss.

Severance Damages

If the agency takes only part of your property, you can be compensated for the loss in value to the part you keep. A taking that splits a parcel, strands a remainder, or cuts off access can do real damage to what is left, and that damage is compensable. These questions frequently overlap with complex real property improvement issues and boundary line disputes.

Business Damages

Florida is one of the few states that lets certain established businesses recover for damage to the business itself caused by a partial taking, not just for the real estate. For a grove operation, a packing facility, or any business running on land in the project area, this is a major and often overlooked category. We break the topic down into two parts: an introduction to business damages and a deeper look at calculating and proving business damages.

Attorney’s Fees and Costs

In most Florida eminent domain cases, the condemning authority pays the owner’s reasonable attorney’s fees and litigation costs, including appraisal and expert fees. Fees are generally tied to the benefit the lawyer obtains above the agency’s offer. In plain terms, retaining counsel usually does not come out of your compensation the way it would in a typical lawsuit. That structure is why there is little downside to having an offer reviewed and challenged.

Chapter 73 and Chapter 74: The Two Tracks of a Taking

Florida has two procedural tracks for government takings, and the difference affects your timing.

The general procedure lives in Chapter 73. The faster track, used in many infrastructure projects, lives in Chapter 74 of the Florida Statutes and is known as “quick-take.”

Under quick-take, the government does not have to wait for a full trial on value before it begins work. It files paperwork, deposits a good-faith estimate of value with the court, and asks a judge to enter an Order of Taking. Once the order is entered and the deposit is made, title and possession shift to the agency. The fight over how much you are owed continues afterward.

This is constitutional only because Florida requires the government to pay. Quick-take speeds up the timing of the taking. It does not erase your right to full compensation.

Here is the trap owners need to know. The deposit is not your final payment. You can often withdraw it and still pursue more. And if you do not respond to the court papers on time, you can waive valuable rights, including the right to challenge aspects of the taking itself.

What Should Hendry and Glades County Owners Do?

If your property could be touched by the C-43 project or a related acquisition, a measured response protects your position. A few practical moves:

• Do not sign or cash anything without review. A first offer is a starting point. Treat the agency’s appraisal as the opening move, not the verdict.
• Document your property and your operations. Photos, leases, income records, and improvements all support a fuller valuation, especially where business damages are in play.
• Watch the deadlines. Court papers in a quick-take case carry response windows that, if missed, can cost you rights.
• Get the offer reviewed early. Because the condemning authority typically pays reasonable fees and costs, early review rarely comes out of your pocket.

Related issues can surface during a taking, from easements and restrictive covenants to quiet title questions and even inverse condemnation claims when government action devalues property without a formal taking. If a regulation rather than a physical taking is the problem, our discussion of the Bert Harris Act may be useful.

How Jimerson Birr Helps

Large public projects like the C-43 reservoir are designed to benefit the region, and they do important environmental work. But they should not come at the quiet expense of the owners whose land makes them possible. Florida law gives property owners real leverage, and the system is built so that owners can fight for the right number without being penalized for it.

Our team handles condemnation and valuation disputes for landowners, ranchers, growers, and businesses across South Florida. If your property sits near the C-43 footprint in Hendry or Glades County, or you have already received a notice or offer, our eminent domain attorneys can review your situation. You can reach us through our contact page, and you can follow developing issues on our Florida eminent domain blog.