SFWMD Governing Board Approves Monitoring as Part of Plan to Help Save Florida Bay

July 14, 2017

West Palm Beach, FL  - The South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) Governing Board on Thursday approved a contract with Florida International University (FIU) to help monitor the impacts of its plan to help save Florida Bay.

"The Governing Board is immensely proud of the ingenuity of this plan and the speed with which it was implemented," said SFWMD Governing Board Chairman Dan O'Keefe. "Entering into a contract with a scientifically committed university like FIU ensures that our plan is sending thousands more gallons of clean, fresh water through Taylor Slough and to Florida Bay."

SFWMD crews are completing the construction project, which will use several pump stations, detention areas and canals to move additional water into Taylor Slough, which connects to Florida Bay. The bay, a largely rainfall-dependent system, has suffered severely from seagrass die-offs. In the past, these ecosystem-harboring grasses were affected drastically by elevated salinity levels  cause by localized droughts. The SFWMD Governing Board plan will add more fresh water through the slough during wet and dry months to help reduce salinity levels.

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To learn more about SFWMD's Florida Bay project, visit www.sfwmd.gov/floridabay.