Restoring the flow: The infrastructure behind America’s Everglades

The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) is the largest estuary restoration project in the world, designed to increase freshwater storage, improve water quality and help re-establish the natural flow of water through the greater Everglades ecosystem.

It is an immense water-management challenge, comprising a vast, interconnected network of projects built around one fundamental goal: capture freshwater, store it, treat it and move it to where it is needed most.

This challenge has unfolded over many years. Across different projects, at different stages of the system and at different points in time, CRH companies have brought materials, infrastructure solutions and water-treatment technologies required to help restore and protect this critical water resource.

Storing water at scale

The C-43 West Basin Storage Reservoir was a significant part of the restoration project. Designed to provide a more consistent flow of water into the Caloosahatchee River Estuary, the reservoir helps reduce extreme changes in salinity.

With capacity to store more than 55 billion gallons of water, the 10,500-acre above-ground reservoir is a piece of infrastructure on an extraordinary scale. Protecting that infrastructure created another challenge, and this is where Oldcastle Infrastructure, A CRH Company, played a key role through its work on the wave wall.

Protecting critical infrastructure

Oldcastle Infrastructure provided a custom precast wave-wall solution to help protect the reservoir during major storm and hurricane events, reducing the effects of wave action and the potential for reservoir breach or failure.

The solution included three product sizes and approximately 6,300 precast components with custom joint designs. Combined, they extend approximately 90,000 linear feet, creating another layer of infrastructure protecting the system behind it.

Treating water at the source

Protecting the Everglades also means improving water quality. Excess phosphorus and nitrogen can fuel algae growth and damage the aquatic ecosystem. Axius Water, a part of Oldcastle Infrastructure, provides nutrient-removal technologies like Nexom’s Cyclor Turbo, designed to reduce these pollutants at the source.

Together, these solutions demonstrate how the infrastructure behind water can help restore natural flows, protect critical resources and build a more resilient future for the Everglades.