This project will improve the health of Biscayne Bay and will aid in wetland rehydration - building coastal resiliency and improving water quality in this area of Miami-Dade County.
March 21, 2023, The South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Miami-Dade County, and many federal, state, and local officials broke ground on the Biscayne Bay Coastal Wetlands (BBCW) Project - Cutler Wetlands Component. This project will improve the health of Biscayne Bay and will aid in wetland rehydration - building coastal resiliency and improving water quality in this area of Miami-Dade County. The Cutler Wetlands Component is the final component of the five-part Biscayne Bay Coastal Wetlands Project.
The Biscayne Bay Coastal Wetlands Project is part of the larger Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) that aims to restore the quality, quantity, timing, and distribution of water within the Greater Everglades Ecosystem. All components of the Biscayne Bay Coastal Wetlands Project will be complete by 2025. When complete, it will restore freshwater flows to southern Biscayne Bay and Biscayne National Park while improving salinity distribution near the shore. It also restores historical freshwater wetland habitat adjacent to the Bay, which acts like a sponge, soaking up water in the wet season and slowly releasing it in a more natural pattern. Reestablishing productive nearshore habitat also supports nursery habitat for key marine wildlife including shrimp, shellfish, and fish.
“Restoration of the Everglades and particularly Biscayne Bay is critical to ensuring the continued clean water supply, economic viability, and environmental and public health of Miami-Dade County. For decades as a citizen, as a nonprofit executive, and now as Mayor, I’ve advocated for this critical project in South Dade,” said Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. “Our environment is our economy, and with today’s groundbreaking, we are one step closer to ensuring clean drinking water and a strong local economy for generations to come.”
The groundbreaking celebrates the beginning of construction of the Cutler Flow Way Phase 1 Pump Station S-701. Once complete, the S-701 Pump Station will deliver freshwater from the C-1 Canal to slowly rehydrate coastal wetlands to Biscayne Bay instead of harmfully discharging it immediately into the bay.