How much do wetlands like the Everglades protect private properties?

 Miami Herald, July 1, 2025

Though construction and development have diminished the Everglades to half their original size, South Florida is still defined by this vast wetland. Just how, exactly, do they help protect us from flooding, which is intensifying as a warmer climate brings more precipitation and stronger hurricanes?

To answer our readers’ questions, the Herald spoke to Meenakshi Chabba, an ecosystem and resilience scientist at the non-profit Everglades Foundation who earned a PhD in Earth System Science at Florida International University and used to work on economic evaluations and risk reduction at FIU’s Disaster Risk and Resilience in the Americas Program.

How do wetlands in South Florida protect residential communities from flooding?

Meenakshi Chabba: Wetlands are actually the very best natural protection we can have from flooding, whether they’re swamps with trees or marshes with grasses. In South Florida, where we get four to five feet of rain a year, inland freshwater wetlands like the Everglades absorb and hold that water very quickly – they’re like a natural sponge. Without them, rainfall and stormwater would overwhelm our neighborhoods. These wetlands have rich organic soil and unique plants that soak up rainwater, that’s just how they’re designed, and that reduces flood heights. The healthier the wetland, the better it holds water, and the better its ability to protect us from flooding.

Read the full Miami Herald article here: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/environment/climate-change/article309707545.html

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