Supporting the restoration of Florida’s Everglades
07 Aug 2025
The Everglades, an internationally recognised ecosystem spanning approximately 1.5 million acres in South Florida, contains the largest subtropical wetland in the United States of America.
The ecosystem contains variety of diverse habitats like sawgrass marshes, mangrove forests and cypress swamps, which are home to numerous federally listed threatened and endangered species like the Florida panther and American crocodile. The Everglades not only supports critical biodiversity, it also provides essential ecological services such as drinking water and protection from hurricanes, as well as bolstering outdoor recreation and eco-tourism opportunities, making it essential to Florida’s economic sustainability.
Since the late 1800s, however, efforts to drain the Everglades for agricultural and residential development have reduced it to around one-third of its size, disrupting natural hydrology and threatening ecosystem functions. In response, the U.S. Congress authorised the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (‘CERP’) in 2000, the largest ecosystem restoration effort in the world, focused on restoring natural water flows and addressing the region’s water needs.
Implementation of the CERP is a collaborative effort between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the South Florida Water Management District (‘SFWMD’). The SFWMD is the oldest and largest of Florida's five water management districts, serving over nine million residents across 16 counties – from Orlando to the Florida Keys – encompassing 31% of the state's total land area.
For over 25 years, Intertek-PSI has supported CERP efforts by providing various environmental solutions to the SFWMD under an environmental risk assessment contract. Between 2023 and 2025, Intertek-PSI was awarded a series of substantial environmental assessment and remediation contracts for the C-23/C-24 South Reservoir Project, a critical part of the Indian River Lagoon-South initiative, which is a key component of the CERP.
The C-23/C-24 South Reservoir Project encompasses approximately 3,500 acres and is designed to capture and store nearly 19 billion gallons of excess water during wet seasons and slowly release it during dry seasons. This managed approach will regulate and maintain freshwater flows to ensure that the delicate balance of fresh and salt water in Florida’s St. Lucie River estuary and the larger Indian River Lagoon – considered the most biologically diverse and most threatened estuarine system in the continental United States – is restored.
The SFWMD’s continued trust on this project highlights Intertek-PSI's leadership in environmental assessment and remediation services throughout Florida, as well as our strong Group-wide commitment to supporting critical infrastructure projects that benefit both communities and the environment.
