The five-year, $524-million lump-sum contract is the largest ever awarded by the South Florida Water Management District under the $16.4-billion Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan and the first CERP project for the contractor.

The proposed budget includes $360 million for at least 23 Everglades projects that will provide 672,000 acre-ft of water storage and reduce Lake Okeechobee discharges that have caused toxic algal blooms on the coasts and estuaries.