Everglades Restoration Project Named Best Engineering Achievement
Stormwater Treatment Area 3/4 Captures Top Honor
The South Florida Water Management District's Stormwater Treatment Area 3/4 was awarded the "Grand Conceptor Award" – the nation's most prestigious award for innovative engineering – by the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) at award ceremonies held in Washington, D.C. last night. Recognized as one of the most promising advancements in restoring the Everglades, the project was chosen the year's best engineering achievement over such projects as the Rion-Antirion Bridge in Greece and Chicago's new Millennium Park.
STA 3/4 is a constructed wetland built on 17,000 acres of former farmland designed to naturally remove high levels of phosphorus from water entering the STA from the thousands of acres of active agricultural fields to its north. After the water flows through the STA, phosphorus levels are significantly reduced. The treated water is then allowed to enter the Everglades. This stormwater treatment area is the largest ever constructed in the world and has exceeded performance expectations since it began operation.
South Florida Water Management District Governing Board member Lennart Lindahl accepted the award on behalf of the District, along with representatives from Kansas City-based Burns and McDonnell – the firm that designed and provided construction support for the project.
District Executive Director Henry Dean calls the project "one of the most successful projects in the history of environmental restoration. Performance statistics from the STA reflect the ingenuity of the design and engineering that produced this environmental breakthrough for the Everglades."
The 26.5 square-mile wetland was rated highest among 175 engineering projects, both nationally and on a global scale, recognized by the ACEC as preeminent engineering achievements for 2005. Seven other projects were presented with "Grand Awards" for excellence and 16 projects received "Honor Awards."
Past "Grand Conceptor Award" winners include: the NASA Space Shuttle Launching Complex, Vandenberg AFB (1985), Baltimore's 1.7-mile Fort McHenry Tunnel (1986), Seattle's Key Arena (1996), and Honolulu's AEOS 3.67 Meter Space Tracking Telescope Facility (2000).
The South Florida Water Management District is a regional, governmental agency that oversees the water resources in the southern half of the state – 16 counties from Orlando to the Keys. It is the oldest and largest of the state's five water management districts. The agency mission is to manage and protect water resources of the region by balancing and improving water quality, flood control, natural systems and water supply. A key initiative is cleanup and restoration of the Everglades.
Source: The South Florida Water Management District