U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

“Are we there yet? No. We are not fully restored. But, we are trending in the right direction,” says Melodie Naja, National Park Service scientist.

There are growing signs that the massive multibillion-dollar effort is beginning to “get the water right.”

Miami-Dade County's latest plan to protect against stronger storms and rising sea levels involves closing off most of Biscayne Bay from the Atlantic Ocean with natural and man-made barriers.

The study, the first authorized to look at the system since the Everglades restoration plan more than two decades ago, will deal with sea rise.

City officials have approved a three-year study agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to find solutions to coastal storm risks.

The water level now stands at 16.25 feet. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' goal has always been to keep releases from the lake "at a minimum."

Hurricane Ian’s devastation on the Southwest Florida coast sent a chill up the spine of anyone in Miami worried about the next big one — and it sharpened the focus of federal planners working to design and build new barriers to avoid a similar outcome for Miami-Dade.

The Corps said it's willing to spend another $8.2 million and take up to five years to better coordinate other plans covering drainage, Biscayne Bay and Everglades marsh restoration and beach renourishment.

The 4-year study by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers found storm surge flooding alone could amount to $24 billion annually with three feet of sea rise, thanks to a warming planet.

Mechanical harvesters will be used to collect invasive floating plants and the plants will then be processed and pumped to nearby hayfields to enhance soil.

The study by the Environmental Integrity Project analyzed biennial pollution reports sent by states to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The money will be used for restoration projects that have dragged on for years, including building a reservoir and undoing damage from old bridges built in the Everglades.