The C43 Reservoir, a key Everglades restoration project, opened July 15 in Hendry County. Located south of Palm Beach Boulevard and west of LaBelle, the 18-square-mile reservoir — roughly the size of Naples — can hold 55 billion gallons of water. Designed to protect the Caloosahatchee River, the reservoir will help prevent harmful discharges from Lake Okeechobee during hurricane season and supply freshwater during dry months. A pump station completed in 2023 can move over 650,000 gallons per minute into the basin. Gov. Ron DeSantis called the reservoir a major milestone for the Everglades and local estuaries.