Jacksonville District Delivers Services and Solutions

BY MICHELLE ROBERTS

SOUTH ATLANTIC DIVISION Jacksonville District

Jacksonville District continues its proud history from the past 140 years of delivering vital services to the nation and collaboratively engineering solutions that support national security, energize our economy, and increase resiliency. As the second-largest district in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, our total programs are valued in the billions and have far reaching impact.

We successfully helped stand up Task Force Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico (TFVIPR) and celebrated it reaching initial operating capability in January. In July, USACE announced the task force would become its own stand-alone district – the Caribbean District.

The sun rises over W.P. Franklin Lock and Dam in Alva, Florida, one of the six USACE locks on the Okeechobee Waterway belonging to the Jacksonville District. Lake Okeechobee and the Okeechobee Waterway Project are part of the complex water management system known as the Central and Southern Florida Flood Control Project. The 451,000-acre lake and 154-mile-long waterway extend from the Atlantic Ocean at Stuart, to the Gulf of Mexico at Fort Myers. The waterway runs through Lake Okeechobee and consists of the Caloosahatchee River to the west of the lake and the St. Lucie Canal east of the lake. The Okeechobee Waterway is primarily used for recreation, but it is also used for commercial navigation, including tug/barge combinations and commercial fishing vessels.

PHOTO BY BRIGIDA SANCHEZ, JACKSONVILLE DISTRICT

We came into this year hot off of conducting emergency management operations in response to Hurricanes Fiona, Ian, Nicole, and Idalia. With a very active 2024 hurricane season predicted, we stand ready to respond and assist our fellow Floridians.

With the largest Coastal Storm Risk Management program in USACE, we construct, operate, and maintain more than 30% of the nation’s total shore protection projects, totaling more than 125 miles of renourished beaches. With 30 active projects, we achieved a great deal this year by awarding the St. Johns County South Ponte Vedra and Vilano Beach projects. The Duval County, St. Augustine Beach, and Flagler Beach Shore Protection Projects are underway and will be completed by the end of the year. We completed the renourishment of a $44 million Miami Beach project that significantly increases coastal resiliency for the surrounding communities. The project implementation report for Brevard Mid Reaches was approved, allowing us to begin design efforts.

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The five-year journey to create a new operating manual for Lake Okeechobee was completed in August, with the signing of the Lake Okeechobee System Operating Manual (LOSOM) Record of Decision. LOSOM represents a significant shift in operational philosophy to a system-wide benefits approach, where lake-level management focuses on making beneficial releases at times and in quantities that improve water supply availability and enhance fish and wildlife in the region. The plan also allows for systemwide analysis to adapt to real-time conditions in making informed decisions on lake releases, and includes more robust and structured communication and collaboration between USACE and stakeholders as operational decisions are made.

This year saw us achieve true momentum in leading the Corps’ single largest ecosystem restoration project – the restoration of America’s Everglades. We celebrated a significant milestone for the Biscayne Bay Coastal Wetlands Project with the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the S-709 Pump Station. The project will restore wetland and estuarine habitats and divert an average of 59% of annual coastal structure discharge away from Biscayne Bay and Biscayne National Park. Work continues on the Everglades Agricultural Area Reservoir, and we held ribbon-cutting ceremonies for the C-43 Pump Station and the Everglades Agricultural Area A-2 Storm Water Treatment Area.

Contributing to our ecosystem restoration program in South Florida, we completed construction on the Miller Tram and Road Removal Project for Picaynue Strand, removing 260 miles of road to allow greater water flow south to the Everglades.

The largest regulatory program in USACE is getting larger. Our annual workload of approximately 10,000 regulatory actions each year will increase as the district reassumes the mission of 404 permitting from the state. AE

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