The C-111 is an important artery in south Florida's water management infrastructure. This wide canal serves to channel flood water away from western Miami-Dade County during the rainy wet season.  

The C-111 has serious impacts on the health of both Biscayne and Everglades National Parks. The canal diverts a large volume of freshwater away from most coastal wetlands, then deposits this flow in an artificially high concentration in northeastern Florida Bay.  As a consequence, these coastal areas, and the wildlife they support, experience regular disruptions to their natural levels of salinity.  

The C-111 project seeks to fill the southern portion of the waterway and replace it with an east-west "spreader" canal. This new feature would distribute flood waters in a more natural fashion over a broad expanse of coastal wetlands in northeast Florida Bay. When implemented, the project will help restore the ecosystems around Taylor Slough, while providing flood protection to the C-111 basin.