BERRYMAN & HENIGAR WINS THREE-YEAR CONTRACT FOR LAKE OKEECHOBEE PHOSPHORUS REDUCTION PROJECTS

ORLANDO, FL, Oct. 31, 2001 -- Berryman & Henigar has been awarded a $300,000, three-year contract from the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) for engineering oversight of phosphorus-reduction projects funded under SFWMD's 2000 Phosphorus Source Control Grant Program. Ray Berryman, chief executive officer of Berryman & Henigar made the announcement.

Lake Okeechobee, the center of the Kissimmee-Okeechobee-Everglades system, is the largest lake in Florida and the second largest freshwater lake in the continental United States, surpassed only by Lake Michigan. The drainage basin covers more than 4,600 square miles.

The Florida Legislature provided funding to the SFWMD for phosphorus source control. According to Jorge Patino, SFWMD senior engineer, approximately $6.5 million were approved by the SFWMD's Governing Board to fund a dozen projects that will help reduce phosphorus entering Lake Okeechobee.

During the past 25 years, Lake Okeechobee has experienced excessive phosphorus loading from development and agricultural runoff in its watershed. "By reducing the phosphorus in the lake, we'll improve the health of this most important resource," said Jeff Earhart, Berryman & Henigar vice president/district manager, who is spearheading the project for the firm. "The grants have been given mostly to agricultural land uses. Each site will design and construct a phosphorus removal best management practice (BMP) or technology. The effectiveness of the BMP or technology at removing phosphorus will be monitored."

Earhart added that phosphorus removal is a long-term project. "Some BMPs work by settling out solids, to which the phosphorus adheres," he said. "Each year a certain amount is captured and over time these small amounts add up to large reductions in the lake. Also, the more sites that are retrofitted to capture phosphorus, the greater the overall benefit."

Patino said Berryman & Henigar will assist the SFWMD verify that projects are completed in accordance with executed agreements. This will require the coordination of communications between SFWMD, grant recipients (many of them farmers) and their consultants; scheduling, field inspections and budget activities. The South Florida Water Management District, with more than 1,700 employees, is located in West Palm Beach, FL. The District, serving a population of about six million residents, provides flood control and water supply protection, restores and manages ecosystems, and protects water quality in a 16-county geographic region covering 17,930 square miles. FY 2002 adopted budget is $728.6 million.

Berryman & Henigar, Inc. is a municipal professional services firm headquartered in San Diego, CA, with 13 offices nationwide, five of which are in Florida. The firm provides municipal engineering, public finance, asset management, community development, construction management and e-Government services to public agencies nationwide. With a staff of more than 350 professionals, Berryman & Henigar is ranked as one of the top 250 consulting engineering companies by Engineering News-Record. Further information is available on the Web at www.bhiinc.com.

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