OKEECHOBEE – Broward County officially joined the County Coalition for Responsible Management of Lake Okeechobee, St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee Estuaries and the Lake Worth Lagoon on Feb. 26. At the coalition’s Feb. 26 meeting in the Historic Okeechobee County Courthouse, Broward County Commissioner Barbara Sharief announced Broward County would like to join the group as a dues-paying member. The vote to welcome Broward County to the group was unanimous.

As her first official action as a member, Sharief joined Palm Beach County Commissioner Melissa McKinlay in asking the coalition to support a resolution calling for a review of the Central and Southern Florida Flood Control Project (C&SF).

The C&SF Project was designed more than 70 years ago, Sharief said. It includes 1,000 miles of levees, 720 miles of canals and almost 200 water control structures. The system was designed to provide flood control for 2 million residents. The area is now home to 11 million people and the population is expected to grow to 15 million within next 30 years. The C&SF provides flood control and water supply for municipal, industrial and agricultural uses, prevents saltwater intrusion, supplies water to the Everglades National Park and protects fish and wildlife. She said increasing rainfall and rising seas strain the system. She said the C&SF project needs to be upgraded to adjust to the external changes in the landscape and urged the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to restudy the system.

McKinlay and Sharief asked the resolution be on the agenda for the coalition’s next meeting.