WGI provided civil engineering and environmental services for this 9.14-acre property. Permitting was complicated as the entire property was a wetland. During the early planning stages of the project, WGI provided an opinion on the feasibility of obtaining the environmental permits and prepared a cost estimate for the wetland mitigation. Before design could begin, geotechnical borings were needed to assess the structural stability of the soils. As impacts to the wetland by the geotechnical rig were unavoidable, WGI obtained wetland permits for the geotechnical work which limited the impact to less than 0.25 acres. Our scientists met with the regulatory agencies, obtained a wetland jurisdictional determination, and obtained wetland permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, South Florida Water Management District, and Broward County Environmental Protection and Growth Management.

When site engineering proceeded, WGI obtained permits for the rest of the wetland impacts. WGI’s design included an on-site wetland restoration area and off-site mitigation. The on-site restoration area design included a freshwater marsh with zones of deep water refugia. As part of the design, WGI used native plants for the restoration.

WGI conducted quarterly permit compliance monitoring, which included water level monitoring using piezometers and automated data loggers.

Project Highlights:

• An example of WGI’s ability to design a successful wetland