"Flood protection is at the core of the District's mission," said SFWMD Governing Board member Clarke Harlow. "It is the exact reason the District was established in 1949. Our employees are proud to protect South Florida residents from flooding and property damage. It is this effort that makes living in South Florida possible."
The Governing Board has commemorated Flood Awareness Month every
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Click on image to watch a video with SFWMD Governing Board Member Clarke Harlow about the District's flood control system. |
year since 2012 in June, which is the start of the traditional wet season. The District maintains more than 4,100 miles of canals and more than 600 structures that move about 6.5 trillion gallons of water on an average year.
The District was first created in 1949 and the flood protection system built in response to extensive damage caused by hurricanes in 1947. Since then South Florida's population has grown exponentially, along with the flood protection system which has received upgrade to improve protection.
The beginning of the summer is when waterways, canals and structures maintained by SFWMD receive the most moving water, in an effort to prevent flooding. District employees are continually performing maintenance throughout the year, ranging from overhauling pump stations to continually inspecting canals and clearing vegetation, as well as other obstructions to prevent canal blockages after rain storms.
In the past year, the District removed trees and other obstructions on a portion of the C-100A canal in Miami-Dade County and will soon begin clearing trees along the G-15 Canal in Broward County. The District is also upgrading the G-103 structure in Polk County to improve flood protection. SFWMD crews are also in the process of building a project in South Miami-Dade County that will both deliver more freshwater to Florida Bay and reduce flooding concerns in agricultural land east of Everglades National Park.
