8th Annual State of the Water

October 15, 2026 | 05:30 PM + Add to Calendar

You helped protect one of the last staghorn coral populations left in Florida

Our 8th Annual State of the Water will gather to collectively imagine – what if this were the last staghorn coral left in Florida? Would our values or our decision-making be different? Would we act to save it? While the theme is hyperbole - it's not by much, as this coral has been declared functionally extinct in Florida, and the dredge ships are still circling. Dive into the actions Miami Waterkeeper is taking to safeguard our reef – and join our mission to save the last staghorn corals.

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Event Details

🗓️ Thursday, October 15, 2026
🕠 5:30 – 8:30 PM
📍 Rusty Pelican, 3201 Rickenbacker Causeway, Key Biscayne, FL 33149
👗 Business casual attire
🍷 Hors d'oeuvres and drinks

#WaterWin: Army Corps Withdraws Its Port Everglades Dredging Application

For more than ten years, Miami Waterkeeper and a coalition of conservation organizations fought to protect Florida's Coral Reef from what NOAA called "the largest impact to coral reefs permitted in U.S. history." On April 15, 2026, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers withdrew its state permit application for the Port Everglades Expansion Dredging project — the most significant progress in over a decade of advocacy.

This pause is a critical opportunity — but it's not the finish line.

More than 35,000 people signed petitions calling on regulators to stop the dredge. Alongside legal advocacy from Earthjustice, scientific testimony, and coalition organizing with the Center for Biological Diversity, Florida Wildlife Federation, and the Diving Equipment and Marketing Association, this community made itself impossible to ignore.

Learn More: Stop the Dredge

What You Can Expect at the State of the Water

An evening built around the people, science, and organizing that made this win possible:

Great company, drinks, and food while connecting with the advocates, scientists, and reef defenders behind the Stop the Dredge campaign
Keynote address by Miami Waterkeeper Dr. Rachel Silverstein on the State of the Water — and what stopping the Port Everglades dredge means for South Florida's future
Presentation of the Porter Prize, honoring a local environmental champion who has demonstrated exceptional leadership in protecting South Florida's waterways

Sponsor State of the Water

At Miami Waterkeeper, you're not an event sponsor — you're a partner.

By sponsoring State of the Water, you become a member of the PartnerSHIP program. This is our community of major donors whose year-round support enables us to quickly pivot and respond to water crises, from pollution spills to policy proposals, as they arise. Together, we fight for clean water through science, advocacy, and education — from reefs to wetlands, courtrooms to classrooms, protecting the water and what makes South Florida unique.

PartnerSHIP members receive complimentary tickets to State of the Water, an exclusive VIP pre-event reception, behind-the-scenes access to our work throughout the year — on the water, in the field, and beyond — and recognition in State of the Water event materials and our annual impact report.

To learn more, contact Helen Quinn at [email protected].

Learn more about our PartnerSHIP program here.