Miami Beach Awarded $14.5 Million in Resilience Funds

(Miami Beach, FL) Feb 9, 2021 -

The City of Miami Beach has been awarded $14.5 million in resilience funds to bolster critical infrastructure and help the city better withstand hurricanes, sea level rise and other types of flooding events. The funds were announced on February 3 by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

“Miami Beach faces a daunting challenge from sea level rise over the next 20 years and beyond,” explained Mayor Dan Gelber. “These funds will help us better prepare our infrastructure for what is projected to be an additional 10 inches to 1.4 feet of higher sea levels during that period over levels recorded in 2000.”

The city is one of 30 Florida jurisdictions, including nearby Miami, Miami Lakes, Homestead, Oakland Park, West Palm Beach, El Portal and Boynton Beach that will receive a combined total of $75 million in grant money through the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity’s (DEO) Rebuild Florida Critical Facility Hardening Program.

“This generous grant reflects the incredible talent of our Public Work’s Engineering and Grants teams,” shared Interim City Manager Raul Aguila. “They were able to effectively showcase the needs and now Miami Beach will benefit greatly from the enhancements to our water and sewer systems.”

Miami Beach is being awarded more grant money in the Critical Facility Hardening Program than any of the other municipalities and counties.

“We worked collaboratively to identify key projects across the city’s water and sewer systems,” added Director of Public Works Roy Coley. “We provided the state with a thorough presentation and personalized site visits to win the funds.”

The grant money will pay for hardening the city’s water booster stations and sewer pump stations. The improvements are intended to increase the resilience of facilities that serve a public safety purpose in the community.

“A significant failure of one of these systems could result in a discharge of raw sewage,” Commissioner Mark Samuelian said. “Such an event could have devastating consequences for the city as well as the millions of people who visit Miami Beach each year from all over the world.”

Construction on the Miami Beach projects is expected to begin in 2022. Miami Beach projects that will be funded by the grant money include the following sewer pump stations and water booster stations:

Sewer Pump Stations:

  • Sewer Pump Station 1 (Jefferson Avenue) – $700,000
  • Sewer Pump Station 28 (West 28 Street) – $5,000,000
  • Sewer Pump Station 29 (Indian Creek/63 Street) – $2,200,000

Water Booster Stations:

  • Normandy Isles Water Booster Station – $550,000
  • 25 Street Water Booster Station – $800,000
  • 41 Street Water Booster Station – $900,000
  • Belle Isle Water Booster Station – $2,400,000
  • Terminal Island Water Booster Station – $1,200,000
  • 75 Street Water Booster Station – $800,000