South Florida Water Management District

The session served as an educational presentation for the governing board and the public regarding the maintenance of the world's largest water management system. Key topics covered included the history of the Central and South Florida Flood Control System, which was built following devastating floods in the 1920s and 1940s. Discussion centered on the substantial investment required for the maintenance and operations of this infrastructure, including 2,130 miles of levees and 2,200 miles of canals. Specific maintenance activities detailed were the four annual cycles of mowing and grading for levees, mechanical removal of debris and vegetation from canals, rehabilitation of canal banks, and the use of tools like specialized equipment and sterile carp to manage vegetation. Furthermore, the presentation addressed the impact of new infrastructure, such as reservoirs and Stormwater Treatment Areas (STAs), on maintenance budgets, and the ongoing efforts to retrofit the system to better manage water flows and protect estuaries.

The meeting, a workshop for the C7 Basin Adaptation and Mitigation Planning Study, served to share the results of the comprehensive study conducted collaboratively with local stakeholders. The study involved a Phase One Flood Vulnerability Assessment using H&H modeling across various storm events and sea level rise scenarios. This was followed by a Phase Two study to identify adaptation and improvement strategies. The discussion highlighted the development of a Strategically Selected Plan (SSP), which is a model-based, illustrative mitigation scenario that combines regional and local scale projects to address flood depth and duration. Key modeling results showed that the SSP reduces overall simulated canal stages under various sea level rise conditions, effectively eliminating instances of bank exceedence, and demonstrates significant spatial and magnitude reductions in flood depth across different rainfall events when compared to future conditions without the project in place.

The meeting included several segments dedicated to employee and team recognitions. Tim Kunard was recognized as the January 2026 Employee of the Month for his crucial role in organizing and executing pump station control panel upgrades, which resulted in significant cost and time savings. The Biscayne Bay Coastal Wetlands Project Team was recognized as the January 2025 Team of the Month for successfully constructing several project components, including Dearing Estates, Cutler Wetlands, and the L3031 flowway, restoring nearly 4,000 acres of coastal wetland and managing complex logistics in urban areas. Mark Weiderstein was honored as the February 2025 Employee of the Month for leading the transition to a new SAP Business Warehouse budget system, integrating IT and budget knowledge to modernize a critical 20-year-old system. The Pikyun Strand Restoration Project Team received recognition as the February 2026 Team of the Month for completing a massive restoration effort involving 55,000 acres, removing 260 miles of roads, and plugging 48 miles of canals, which aids in aquifer recharge and ecosystem connectivity. Additionally, service awards were presented: Laura Layman received a 25-year service award for her extensive work in environmental permitting and ecosystem restoration, including leading the Corkscrew Watershed Initiative. Danielle Morreny received a 25-year service award for her expertise in systems modeling, particularly in emergency management modeling and supporting major planning efforts like SEP 1.0. Jennifer Barnes received a 30-year service award for her foundational work as a co-developer of the South Florida Water Management Model and her continued engagement in resiliency modeling. Christopher King received a 30-year service award for developing the district's permit compliance reporting over 30 years, which culminates in the annual South Florida Environmental Report.

The business meeting of the Governing Board commenced with acknowledgments for Veterans Day. The meeting included several employee recognitions: Greg Noli was named November 2025 Employee of the Month for his instrumental leadership on the Central Everglades Planning Project (SEP North), and the Central Florida Water Initiative Regional Water Supply Plan Team was recognized as the Team of the Month for completing a three-year effort to update the water supply plan for five central and southern Florida counties. Service awards were presented for 30 years to Renee Hammet, highlighting her extensive career in IT security and community service, and for 35 years to Mark Ellner, recognizing his long tenure in water supply planning, including significant contributions to water reuse rules and plan development. The board addressed agenda revisions, noting a new item added to the consent agenda. A separate report detailed the Big Cypress Basin Board meeting from October 30, 2025, which covered updates on the canal bank assessment program, a tree removal project, the Corkscrew Watershed Initiative restoration concepts, adjustments to the basin capital plan, and an update on reintroducing native orchids into the Corkscrew regional ecosystem watershed.

The meeting served as a Resiliency Coordination Forum, providing updates on various resilience and water-related initiatives. Key discussion points included the submission of the annual resilience plan to the legislature and updates on the expansion of scientific liaison positions targeting water management districts. Progress on design storm change factors, sea level rise exceedance probabilities linked to shared socioeconomic pathways, and drought scenarios informing the water supply vulnerability assessment were detailed. Significant accomplishments noted were the approval and adoption of the Central Florida Water Initiative regional water supply plan. Staffing updates included the welcoming of a new principal project manager and the appointment of a new unit lead for the flood control and resiliency team. Furthermore, updates were provided on the completion of Chapters 2A and 2B of the resilience metrics report, progress on projects (S27, S28, S29) funded by pre-disaster hazard mitigation funding, ongoing status of C7 basin studies, and the initiation of two new Phase One studies. The development of a project tracking dashboard for future plan updates was also discussed.