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Everglades and the Problem of Water Management
The Everglades is a unique ecosystem and there is no other like it in the world. The Everglades are the source and security of the fresh water that enables people to live and do business in South Florida. It is the source of drinking water for the area's five million people, and sustains a productive agricultural industry. Over the past century, the Everglades have been severely harmed by the growth in human population.
Water management is one of the most severe environmental issues facing the Everglades today. The Everglades' watershed starts in the Kissimmee River basin north of Lake Okeechobee.
In the summertime, thunderstorms would flood this area, the large lake, and extensive areas of everglades marsh, creating created a shallow, wide river that flowed slowly south through the everglades to the Gulf of Mexico. The summer rains would then subside to a six-month dry season. The plants and animals of the Everglades adapted to this seasonal cycle of wetness and dryness.
In the entire United States, only California, New York, and Texas outstrip Florida in population these days. Approximately...
In addition, about 39 million people visit Florida every year from other places. Approximately 12 million of these people come during winter's dry season as the state's water supplies naturally drop. Nothing feels the pressure of this population increase more than the historic Everglades.
As a result of this population growth, the Everglades now face a serious water supply problem. The Everglades are now about half their original size of four million acres and large portions of the remaining area are degraded.
Drainage projects and development have negatively influenced the systems water quality and biodiversity. Flood control and water distribution systems for urban development have altered the quantity, timing, and distribution of water flows.
Before humans intervened, water used to move slowly from Lake Okeechobee to Florida Bay in a smooth flow through the Everglades. Along this path, the naturally filtered water would simply recharge the Biscayne Aquifer, supply nutrients to vegetation, maintain a supply of fresh water for animals, reduce the risk of fire, maintain surface and ground…
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