On February 6, 2023, Miami-Dade County and its Resilient305 partners—the cities of Miami and Miami Beach—received over $39 million in funding from the Resilient Florida Grant Program.
The grants, distributed by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, will go to support ongoing restoration and resilience project implementation in the county.
Of the 75 grants awarded statewide, 7 were awarded within Miami-Dade County, with $16,975,000 going directly towards Miami-Dade County-led projects.
The City of Miami Beach received funds to adapt the West Avenue neighborhood to sea level rise and construct a retention lake in Bayshore Park a former golf course that is being repurposed and ecologically restored to enhance local quality of life while better managing rain and flood water.
The City of Miami received money for flood improvements in the Auburndale area.
The four County resilience projects funded include:
- restoration of Environmentally Endangered Lands at Matheson Hammock;
- raising the banks of secondary canals that feed into the C-8 Canal/Biscayne Canal;
- stormwater improvements for the Regional West Waste Transfer Station; and
- protecting the Virginia Key Wastewater Treatment Plant from sea level rise and storm surge.
These projects are critical in responding to the risk of flooding, identified in Miami-Dade County’s Sea Level Rise Strategy, including increased sea level rise, storm surge and rainfall events, and informing implementation strategies to reduce the effects of flooding.
Miami-Dade residents will benefit from these projects with the assurance that local government is working to protect critical infrastructure and neighborhoods that are most vulnerable to flooding.
Once the projects are complete, areas that already seeing impacts from sea level rise and flooding will be safer and easier for residents to live, work, and play.
“Miami-Dade County is on the frontline of the climate change but also, at the forefront of climate solutions,” said Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.
“Investments in these critical projects not only protect Miami-Dade families, but also create blue-green jobs and protect local infrastructure,” she added.
The grants awarded to Miami-Dade and its municipalities represent the ongoing fulfillment of the commitment Mayor Levine Cava, the Board of County Commissioners, and the Resilient305 partnership have made to ensure the region has the necessary resources to build a more resilient future.
Miami-Dade County continues to seek support for other key adaptation initiatives, such as protecting our water and sewer infrastructure from storms and sea level rise, land acquisition, and the restoration of natural areas.
The county is also working to reduce the drivers of climate change through greenhouse gas reduction initiatives outlined in the Miami-Dade County Climate Action Strategy.
Rendering of Bayshore Park is courtesy of the City of Miami Beach.