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NRCS and Miami-Dade County Complete Post Katrina-Wilma Hurricane EWP Work
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from left Miami-Dade County Department of Resources Management Floodplains
Construction Inspector Julio Nores, NRCS Florida State Conservation
Engineer Jesse Wilson, Miami-Dade County Project Manager Francisco Guarin,
NRCS Florida Civil Engineer Elwyn Cooper (NRCS photo click to enlarge) |
Wilma was a classic October hurricane which struck South Florida as a Category 3
hurricane on October 24th, 2005. It became the 21st named storm of the season
during the morning hours of October 17, 2005, which tied the record for the most
named storms in one season originally set back in 1933. On October 24th, the hurricane made
landfall shortly before 7 a.m. on the southwest Florida coast
between Everglades City and Cape Romano, then traveled east across Florida and
through Miami-Dade County. According to the National Weather Service, Hurricane
Wilma was the most intense storm ever in the Atlantic Basin.
Approximately $12.4 million was obligated to NRCS by Congress for damages resulting from Hurricanes Katrina and Wilma. The
Emergency Watershed Protection
Program (EWP) project included removing debris (primarily trees and other
vegetative debris) from 120 miles of canals and repairing canal banks eroded
from the hurricane. Several thousand tons of debris wereremoved from these
canals to restore the flow and prevent flooding. The local sponsor for this
project was Miami-Dade County.
"The EWP Program authorized NRCS to come in and clean out canals of debris
caused by catastrophic events, such as we had in Miami-Dade County. This debris
causes both flooding and health hazards so it important to clean it up as soon
as possible. Congress appropriates money to NRCS and we work in a
partnership with local sponsors on these projects," explained NRCS Florida State Conservationist Niles Glasgow.
"NRCS has been tremendous with not only the response, but coming down and
evaluating and joining us in the assessments. The whole process was very quick,
professional. We came to an agreement very quickly. Over a million inhabitants
in Miami-Dade County will benefit from the work that NRCS and Miami-Dade
Department of Environmental Resources Management (DERM) have done," said DERM’s
Deputy Director Dorian Valdez.
Your contact is Bob Stobaugh, NRCS
public affairs specialist at 352-338-9565.
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