FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  January 30, 2004
CONTACT: Alia Faraj, (850) 488-5394 or
                    Deena Wells, (850) 245-2112

Governor Bush Delivers Flood Relief To Miami Neighborhoods

~Managing water in the Everglades reaps environmental benefits, protects communities~

MIAMI - Governor Jeb Bush today fulfilled his commitment to protect South Florida from the threat of devastating floods. Department of Environmental Protection Secretary David B. Struhs, emergency managers and elected officials joined the Governor to herald Florida's completion of a 450-acre impoundment area that provides relief to the historically flood-prone neighborhoods of Sweetwater, West Miami and Flagami.

"Protecting our communities from floods goes hand-in-hand with restoring America's Everglades," said Governor Bush. "Florida's unwavering commitment to saving this natural treasure is also improving water quality, restoring water flow, and providing a reliable supply of water."

Hundreds of thousands of Miami-Dade residents depend on a network of canals for flood protection. Prompted by severe flooding during Hurricane Irene in 1999 and the flooding in October 2000, the just completed C-4 Emergency Detention Basin provides a temporary holding area to store water directed from the C-4 Canal that would otherwise flood the canal system during heavy rainstorms.

"The South Florida Water Management District and all of our partners have done a remarkable job for these communities -- and in record time," said Secretary Struhs. "Today, this plan to solve neighborhood flooding brings the benefits of managing water in the Everglades into the backyards of urban dwellers."

Designed to capture and store up to four feet of water within a 1,800 acre detention area, the $89 million project is part of a wider flood control improvement plan for Miami-Dade County. As part of the first phase, engineers dredged the C-4 canal and built three pumping stations to push water out of the west end of the canal into the 450 acre reservoir. When water levels subside, a reversed sequence returns the stored water safely to the canal. The Emergency Detention Basin can hold enough water to fill 1,375 football fields one foot deep in water. The storage capacity will almost double the level of flood protection available to residents along the C-4 Canal.

"Flood control will always be a fundamental priority for the District," said South Florida Water Management District Executive Director Henry Dean. "We are committed to doing whatever we can to help local governments identify and implement drainage system improvements for the benefit of our communities."

Water managers today broke ground on the second phase of the C-4 Emergency Detention Basin, which will provide another 450 acres of water storage. More than three miles of levees will eventually surround the impoundment.

"The commitment made by this local, state and federal partnership is improving the quality of life in these communities," said Department of Community Affairs Secretary Colleen Castille. "This unparalleled cooperation has already yielded results and lessened the flooding impacts of recent storm events."

Funding for the flood mitigation project was cost shared by the State of Florida and the Federal Emergency Management Agency through the Hazard Mitigation program.

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