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Rising sea levels and increasingly extreme weather conditions are reshaping coastlines around the world, but few places are feeling the pressure more acutely than Miami-Dade County. With much of the region sitting just above sea level and directly exposed to the Atlantic Ocean, the county faces an urgent need to adapt.
As Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department (WASD) Director Jay J Fink explains, it’s clear that environmental challenges are gathering momentum. But so too are the regulatory requirements that govern the organization’s operations.
“Resilience to us means designing infrastructure that can withstand extreme conditions as well as looking at sea level rise and storms.”
Balancing the demands of each is therefore one of his main responsibilities.
“That means investing in infrastructure that’s more adaptive, resilient and technologically advanced, ensuring that we are meeting today’s needs anticipating tomorrow,” he tells The CEO Magazine.
“Our systems are getting older, so as we need to replace them, we need to be thinking smarter and strategically. Resilience to us means designing infrastructure that can withstand extreme conditions as well as looking at sea level rise and storms.”
By harnessing the latest technology and working with partners such as Lanzo Construction, Hazen and Sawyer, CES Consultants, AECOM and HDR, the Miami-Dade WASD can monitor conditions, enabling it to move into predictive maintenance rather than reactive maintenance and make more data-driven decisions.
“We’ve tried to leverage automation, analytics and emergent technology such as AI to improve operational performance while remaining deliberate and strategic in our approach,” Fink says.
For the department, growth and success must take into account population increases and system expansions, delivering high-quality water and wastewater services for 2.8 million residents while simultaneously trying to be responsible and keep rates affordable.
“True growth means modernizing infrastructure, strengthening resiliency, maintaining that affordability and earning the public’s trust through consistence, performance and regulatory compliance,” Fink explains.
A key example of this commitment is the department’s US$8.9 billion capital improvement program, which will see it modernize facilities, replace aging infrastructure and improve system reliability as it prepares for the long-term.
But again, it must do this while also factoring in regulatory requirements.
“We have something here in Florida that is known as the ocean outfall legislation,” Fink explains.
“What that means is that we can no longer rely on disposing of wastewater discharges into the ocean. We need to go to advanced treatment, disinfection and deep well injections for that.”
This continual evolution is a non-negotiable, with Miami-Dade WASD taking a ‘dual-track approach’, which sees it address both maintenance of what it already has in place, as well as modernizing its operations.
“The car you drove 10, 15 years ago doesn’t have any of the features that today’s cars have. It’s the same thing with our treatments and the same thing with our technologies,” Fink points out.
“The things we can do today far surpass the technology that was put in place when these facilities were built back in the 70s and 80s.”
The crux of the matter is building a system that is resilient, efficient and capable of supporting the department’s growth, which is already well underway.
“We are looking at those projections both from an environmental point of view as well as a domestic population point of view,” Fink says.
As part of its project to tackle ocean outfall, it is looking at taking that treated wastewater and treating it to a much higher degree, but then discharging it 850 meters below the ground’s surface.
“It takes a little more energy to push it down that far, but at the same time, it’s not only a state-mandated legislation, it’s also better for the environment and better for sustainability,” he explains. “It’s long-term and forward-thinking.”
Advanced modeling is used to account for any environmental risks, as well as where the wastewater is going to go. It helps the department establish the impact on its systems and whether they are being built using the right materials and methodologies compared with previous years.
“The upgrades collectively will improve our operational reliability and enhance our own facility’s ability to continue serving our population,” Fink adds.
Alongside this resilience comes independence, with Miami-Dade WASD putting in place generators that will help minimize power outages and ensure it can run without external assistance for days on end.
“What that does is it allows us, when there’s a surge for electrical demand, to get off the grid and we can actually function on our own knowing that we can deal with that or a catastrophic failure,” Fink says.
“We’re ready and can continue that generation.”
“We have very different risks to those farther inland or in a different part of the country.”
This is critically important because of the county’s unique location, according to Fink.
“We have very different risks to those farther inland or in a different part of the country,” he reflects.
“That means in the short-term when we see extreme storms or storm surges, we know that we’re built in an elevation that should be able to handle most of those types of extreme events.”
All of the developments that are underway link back to one overarching theme – serving the needs of the department’s customers. This can only be done by ensuring that the entire team of 3,000 people is motivated.
To do this, it has developed a strategic plan with the support of Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava entitled, ‘Water, A Vision for Excellence’ (WAVE).
“It was really developed and borne from the ground up,” Fink says.
“It not only looks at transforming the culture of the workforce, but also how do we optimize service delivery? How do we make sure that we’re addressing environmental concerns? How do we make sure that we’re forward-looking? How do we make sure that we’re dealing with our customers? Because they’re the focus.”
“We’re passionate about building resilient infrastructure, driving innovation and making strategic investments.”
Together the Miami-Dade WASD team ensures reliable water and wastewater services for the community on a daily basis, with Fink confident this impact will continue well into the future.
“We’re passionate about building resilient infrastructure, driving innovation and making strategic investments that will benefit Miami-Dade County for generations to come.”
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