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INSTRUCTOR: 
Vijay Mishra

Purpose and Background

This product is for the Livestream session for the 2024 ASCE Convention. You will access the Live session on ZoomforGov.

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 flow ways, plus additional projects in planning and design.

Learning Outcomes and Session Benefits

Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:

• Explain the history and purpose of the Central and Southern Florida (C&SF) Project and its role in regional water management, flood control, and navigation.
• Describe the ecological impacts caused by the original C&SF flood control system and the objectives of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) in addressing these issues.
• Identify the key components and infrastructure involved in the Everglades restoration efforts, including reservoirs, stormwater treatment areas, and structural modifications.
• Discuss the financial investments, planning, and engineering efforts that have contributed to the progress and success of the world’s largest ecosystem restoration project.

Assessment of Learning Outcomes

Learning outcomes are assessed and achieved through passing a 10 multiple choice question post-test with at least a 70%.

Who Should Attend?

• Transportation engineers
• Environmental engineers
• Construction engineers
• Coastal engineers
• Water Resource engineers
• Consulting engineers

How to Earn Your PDHs and Receive Your Certificate of Completion

This course is worth 1 PDH. To receive your certificate of completion, you will need to attend the live session and/or watch the recording(s) and complete the post-session survey. If the course is taken On-Demand, there will also be a 10 multiple choice question post-test.

View Important Policies and System Requirements for this course