DENVER — The South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) recently awarded CH2M HILL a contract to provide professional engineering services as part of an $880 million plan to restore the Everglades, according to a press release.
Under this contract, CH2M HILL will work in tandem with SFWMD to help enhance the natural region of tropical wetlands in Florida, noted the release.
The Everglades, which once covered nearly 11,000 square miles of South Florida, is one of the largest U.S. freshwater wetland systems and is home to dozens of threatened and endangered species, continued the release, but efforts to drain the marshland for agriculture, development and flood control have reduced the Everglades to half the size it was a century ago.
“SFWMD’s mission is to protect water resources and restore the Everglades’ ecosystem,” said Chris Niforatos, CH2M HILL‘s program manager. “We look forward to contributing our expertise in design and construction management services for large-scale earthworks and conveyance projects to help SFWMD manage and protect this precious wetland system.”
According to the release, CH2M HILL is also working with the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) on its Watershed Management Program — a multifaceted program to develop flood risk information for watersheds throughout west-central Florida.
