The western portion of the C-111 Spreader Canal Project to move more fresh water toward Florida Bay officially went into service Friday.</p><p>The $26 million series of canals and pumps will "help restore freshwater flows to Florida Bay, preserve clean water in Everglades National Park and maintain flood control" for nearby homes and farms, South Florida Water Management District staff said in a prepared statement.</p><p>The eastern portion of the C-111 project -- which would be visible from the 18-Mile Stretch of U.S. 1 between Key Largo and Florida City -- remains to be built.</p><p>"We need to move forward with planning for Phase 2 of the C-111 Spreader Canal Project," said Kahlil Kettering, an analyst with the National Parks Conservation Association.</p><p>"Phase 2 will provide most of the envisioned benefits for restoring natural salinity patterns through Everglades wetlands and habitat for wildlife, ultimately revitalizing Florida Bay and Biscayne National Park," Kettering said.</p><p>Finishing the C-111 western section "is a great example of a project that meets the broader ecosystem restoration goals of getting the water right, and restoring natural habitats and species," Everglades National Park Superintendent Dan Kimball said.</p><p>The new western system prevents fresh water from draining out of the national park.</p><p>The western C-111 project includes two pump stations, 10 plugs or water-control structures, and barriers that can hold up to 1,200 acre-feet -- an acre-foot is a foot of water covering an acre -- of fresh water from rain. That retained water should flow south through Taylor Slough, helping to Florida Bay return to a more natural salinity level.</p><p>Decades of construction and road building in South Florida disrupted the historical water flow and changed the nature of the 850-square-mile bay.