The Biscayne Bay and Southeastern Everglades Ecosystem Restoration (BBSEER) undertaking continues to maneuver ahead as a serious planning effort underneath the Complete Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP). Led by the U.S. Military Corps of Engineers (the Corps) in partnership with the South Florida Water Administration District, BBSEER goals to revive freshwater flows into southern Miami-Dade County. Because of this, BBSEER ought to immediately result in enchancment of nearshore circumstances of Biscayne Bay, Biscayne Nationwide Park, and close by freshwater and coastal wetland communities.
Background
Traditionally, freshwater flows into Biscayne Bay unfold throughout the panorama, filtering via wetlands earlier than reaching the bay. Many years of growth and canalization have led to freshwater pulses from canals, resulting in unnatural volumes, timing, and distribution of water that negatively impression the coastal ecosystem. BBSEER seeks to enhance the timing and distribution of freshwater flows into southern Miami-Dade County via quite a few proposed options, together with canal modifications, water storage and therapy areas, and seepage administration.
Restoring freshwater flows on this space is important to rehydrate wetlands that buffer towards the detrimental results of sea stage rise and saltwater intrusion. With out well timed implementation of BBSEER, coastal communities and the Biscayne Aquifer stay more and more weak, threatening ingesting water provides, coastal ecosystems, and mangrove communities that shield Miami-Dade County from storm surge.
Backfilling the C-111 Canal
A important part of BBSEER is the backfilling of the C-111 canal in southern Miami-Dade County. South Florida depends closely on the Biscayne Aquifer, a shallow groundwater supply that’s extremely weak to saltwater intrusion. Canals just like the C-111 drain recent water away too rapidly, decreasing groundwater ranges, which permits salt water from the coast to maneuver inland and threaten our ingesting water. Backfilling of the C-111 wouldn’t solely rehydrate and join wetland habitat, benefiting quite a few plant and animal species, but in addition gradual or forestall saltwater intrusion farther inland.
Motion within the Southern Everglades Restoration
The Southern Everglades Restoration Challenge kicked off in January of this 12 months, with the primary public assembly held in early April as a part of the Corps’ initiation of the Nationwide Environmental Coverage Act evaluation. The Southern Everglades Examine seeks to make use of a collection of water administration options, significantly the usage of seepage partitions alongside western Miami-Dade County, to enhance the amount, high quality, timing and distribution of freshwater in Water Conservation Space 3B and japanese Everglades Nationwide Park. The undertaking may even embrace an analysis of recharge alternatives inside the Hen Drive Basin, an space that Audubon has persistently advocated for as important to Everglades restoration. Regardless of the phasing out of the Hen Drive Basin underneath BBSEER, Audubon is inspired to see the basin’s inclusion within the Southern Everglades Examine.
Working Collectively
BBSEER and the Southern Everglades Examine symbolize important subsequent steps in advancing Everglades restoration within the southeastern portion of the system, a extremely urbanized and sophisticated area. Each tasks are tackling long-standing water challenges which have disrupted freshwater move and degraded coastal and estuarine ecosystems.
Audubon will proceed to advocate for these tasks to maneuver ahead with the best methods.
This article originally appeared in the Spring 2026 State of the Everglades Report.
