Our region is celebrating notable advancement of resilience efforts focused on the Central and Southern Florida Flood Control Project (C&SF).
On September 8, 2022 the Governing Board for the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) approved a cost share agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to advance a new flood resilience study of the SE Florida component of the C&SF, the backbone of the region’s flood management system. Broward County is an active participant in this process.
The Jacksonville District of USACE subsequently held a two-day planning charrette for the Central and South Florida (C&SF) Flood Resiliency Study on Jan. 11-12 in Fort Lauderdale - at the Museum of Discovery and Science, and Broward County Governmental Center.
Invited were representatives of Federal and State agencies, Native American Tribes, local agencies, and interested stakeholders to provide comments and identify any issues or concerns.
The first day of the charrette focused mostly on planning problems, opportunities, objectives, and constraints for the study as well as forecasting future conditions. The second day moved to examine types of solutions (measures) including structural, non-structural, and natural and nature based features.
The new Flood Resiliency Study will address flood damage reduction, water supply and related water resources concerns which could occur over the next 50 years (to 2070 and beyond) if the USACE High Rate Sea Level Change scenario happens.
The Study will also focus on the project features which can reduce the most immediate risk to changing conditions, and the resilience aspects of such infrastructure in terms of flood vulnerabilities, based on an overall assessment of the entire C&SF system and the recommendation of areas for further evaluation.
The results of the study should allow the immediate authorization of construction to update components that need immediate attention to provide the expected C&SF level of service and approve continuing investigations of the remaining structures.
NEXT STEPS
The next series of Broward County workshops will be held virtually on February 15, 16 and 17 and will focus on the development of alternatives for the C&SF Flood Resiliency Study. Find out more
here > HISTORY OF THE C&SF
The C&SF Project was first authorized by Congress in 1948.
It is a major civil works project that provides flood control, supplies water for municipal, industrial, and agricultural uses, prevents saltwater intrusion, supplies water for Everglades National Park and protects fish and wildlife resources.
The primary system includes approximately 2,200 miles of canals, 2,100 miles of levees/berms, 84 pump stations and 778 water control structures.
It is now 75 years since the C&SF Project was initiated, yet it still serves as the central means for protecting the region’s 8.5 million residents from flooding.
