Project Description

For most of the past century, the primary water management activity in central and south Florida was to provide flood protection and water supply. The result was accelerated drainage of the area’s fresh water into the ocean, and the loss of more than half of the Everglades wetlands. The Water Resources Development Acts of 1992 and 1996 gave the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) authority to re-evaluate the performance and impacts of the previous project, which had been in place for almost 50 years, and recommend improvements or modifications to restore the south Florida ecosystem and provide other water resource needs. The resulting Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) created a framework and guide to restore, protect, and preserve the water resources of over 18,000-square-miles; capture, store, and redistribute fresh water previously lost to the tides; and to regulate the quality, quantity, timing and distribution of water flows.

CERP is by far the largest of several efforts to restore the Everglades. Parsons, as part of the Everglades Partners Joint Venture, is providing program management services for the Jacksonville District, Corps of Engineers.

The CERP program is divided into three main areas: program management; project management; and restoration, coordination, and verification (RECOVER). RECOVER is responsible for linking science, and the tools of science, to a set of planning, evaluation, and assessment tasks that will ensure a system-wide perspective is maintained throughout the restoration program. Given that there are more than 40 projects in CERP, as well as other ongoing efforts, an intense and innovative management, coordination, and communication effort is required.

Client

Location

Duration

Services

Program management

Master Implementation Sequencing Plan support

Technical reviews

Engineering design standards

Environmental impact studies

Regulatory compliance

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