Miami’s Infrastructure is Falling Behind its Population Growth
Miami is grappling with a convergence of environmental challenges and underinvestment in critical infrastructure.
Miami is grappling with a convergence of environmental challenges, including frequent flooding, rising sea levels, and underinvestment in critical infrastructure. As sea levels rise, the city faces increasing incidents of “sunny day flooding,” where high tides inundate streets and neighborhoods even on clear days.
Septic tanks are overflowing. Miami’s reliance on septic tanks is abnormal for a city of its size. These systems, which serve over 100,000 homes and businesses, often overflow during storms, releasing harmful bacteria and contaminants into the environment. Transitioning from septic tanks to a modern sewer system is complex and estimated to cost billions. Proposed solutions include connecting properties to the sewer system, a process that may costs homeowners an average of $20,000 each and raising taxes and fees to fund the infrastructure overhaul. Rising sea levels will only exacerbate the problem. But Miami is not alone, this is an issue affecting communities across the southeast Atlantic.
Trash is piling up. The area’s landfills could run out of space by 2026 according to reports from the County Mayor’s office and pose a severe threat to the city’s waste management system. The issue has potential to curtail future development under the county’s legal obligation to have five years of garbage disposal capacity before issuing new building permits. In July of last year, the former director of Miami-Dade’s Department of Solid Waste Management warned if solutions are not found, “the County will have to issue a moratorium to stop all development.”
One solution is to build a new incinerator for a $1 billion and is more quickly needed following a fire that destroyed a waste-to-energy plant in Doral last year. But the city is a long way off from solving its trash problem. A recent consultant report found the best-case scenario for an incinerator’s completion would be seven years and nine months after it begins if everything goes according to plan. A recommendation from the mayor is expected in September.
The costs are growing. In April, the city council updated its stormwater master plan to prioritize $600 million in immediate infrastructure improvements — it anticipates over $5 billion in total costs to address flooding and achieve long-term resiliency goals. The plan identifies key projects across 49 sub-basins. Immediate priorities include upgrades to stormwater systems, seawall replacements, and pump stations in flood-prone neighborhoods.
Climate mitigation contributes to inequality. Rising sea levels come with another cost: Climate gentrification. Miami is an emerging phenomenon where climate change and its associated risks drive up property and insurance costs, making it increasingly unaffordable for all but the wealthy. As flood-prone areas see more frequent and severe impacts from climate change, affluent residents are better positioned to absorb the soaring insurance premiums or invest in costly mitigation measures. This economic shift forces lower-income residents out of their neighborhoods, exacerbating social inequality.
Despite these issues, people are willing to overlook the risks. Construction volume in the greater Miami metro area hit $27.4 billion in 2023, up 73% from $15.8 billion in 2014, according to one analysis. At the same time, the area’s population has surged, increasing by more than 660,000 people between 2010 and 2020 — the most of any other Florida metropolis and nearly twice the total of number 2 Tampa-St. Petersburg.
Without significant upgrades, overburdened and outdated infrastructure cannot cope with the dual pressures of climate change and rapid urbanization. This neglect jeopardizes economic stability and exacerbates social inequalities, as vulnerable populations bear the brunt of environmental and infrastructural failures. Long-term resilience and sustainability hinges on proactive investments to protect lives, properties, and the overall well-being of urban residents.
Any opinions expressed herein are those of the author and the author alone.
