In America’s Everglades, the South Florida Water Management District and the US Army Corps of Engineers have a unique 50/50 partnership in planning, designing, constructing, and operating the largest ecosystem restoration project in the world – a massive retrofit of the multi-purpose flood control system that spurred the development of Central and Southern Florida. The Central and Southern Florida (C&SF) Project is the backbone of the complex regional water management system providing flood control, water supply, and navigation. Originally constructed by the US Army Corps of Engineers in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, the system caused widespread ecological damage by draining the land too effectively and too quickly. In 2000, the US Congress authorized a modification to the C&SF Project known as the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP), anticipated to take about 30 years and $8B to construct. Nearly 25 years later, the program is finally delivering meaningful results due to bold investments by both the State and Federal government, coupled with dogged planning and engineering by dedicated staffs. Today, the South Florida Water Management District operates and maintains more than 2,100 miles of canals and levees, 915 water control structures, 620 project culverts, and 90 pump stations, plus 75,000 acres of built wetlands and 420,000 acres of natural lands. In 2024, combined funding for this mega-project is nearly $2 Billion. New projects include 7 reservoirs, 4 stormwater treatment areas, plus numerous structural modifications and changes to gates, culverts, levees, canals, and flowways, plus additional projects in planning and design.
1 PDH.