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April 2001
Getting the Water Right: The Restoration of the Florida Everglades

By April H. Gromnicki

 


The Everglades ecosystem of southern Florida, from the Kissimmee River Valley in the north through Lake Okeechobee, the Everglades, Florida Bay, the Keys, and the coral reefs to the south, is world-renowned for its biodiversity. Because of its unique biological wealth and beauty, the 17,000 square mile area of Everglades National Park has been declared a World Heritage Site, UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and Ramsar Wetland. The Everglades, America’s premiere wetland, is also the nation’s most endangered ecosystem.

For more than 50 years, the water of the Everglades has been diverted, ditched and diked, resulting in the tragic decline in natural resources and wildlife habitat so apparent today. We now have the opportunity to restore much of this national treasure to its natural condition, and in so doing, set international precedents for sustainability. Over the past several decades, the Everglades has become a case study of the interdependence of human society and its ecosystem. Bordered by extensive urban and agricultural development, the South Florida/Everglades ecosystem epitomizes the integral link between society, the economy, and the environment. That link is water.

Because of the degradation of this vast ecosystem and consequent threats to South Florida’s ecological and economic future, the Everglades has become the focal point of the most ambitious ecosystem restoration project ever attempted. In December 2000, Congress passed an act approving the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) as a framework to restore, preserve and protect the Everglades, while providing for other water-related needs of the region. CERP anticipates spending nearly $8 billion on more than 60 projects over nearly 30 years. The primary objective of the CERP is to provide the appropriate quantity, quality, timing and distribution of water to the Everglades.

Water Quantity and Quality
South Florida receives approximately 60 inches of rain each year. Unfortunately, much of this is wasted—rapidly pumped off to prevent flooding—sending almost one trillion gallons of water to the ocean each year—the equivalent annual water supply for over 15 million people. This wasted water must be stored to satisfy the needs of the Everglades, and to augment the needs of agriculture and urban populations. Additionally, Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) is heavily relied upon in the Everglades Restoration plan. ASR is the process by which water is pumped underground into the aquifer, stored and then recovered for later use. Upwards of 330 ASR wells are proposed to store water 1,000 feet underground in the upper Floridian aquifer.

High quality water is one of the crucial elements of a sustainable Everglades ecosystem and a sustainable human population in South Florida. Much of the political discussion has focused on phosphorus—primarily from agricultural runoff—as the major water contaminant that must be dealt with by reducing concentrations to ten parts per billion or less. The reality is that phosphorous is only one of a suite of contaminants that must be considered in developing a water quality strategy. Nitrogen, a variety of residual pesticides, and herbicides are commonly found in agricultural runoff. Urban runoff often contains a complex mixture of contaminants that include heavy metals, petroleum products, nutrients, and sediments. Sufficient treatment areas and filtration marshes must be established and, where applicable, restored in the southern Everglades Agricultural Area and throughout the system.

Contamination of drinking water aquifers and groundwater is also of great concern, due to the porous nature of much of the surficial limestone aquifer because contaminants on the surface can rapidly infiltrate groundwater. Groundwater contamination concerns are threefold. The first concern is for public water supply; the second is agricultural irrigation waters; and third, groundwater contamination in the Everglades Protection Area. We must ensure that water entering the Everglades Protection Area is of sufficient quality to avoid causing any biotic or abiotic imbalances in the Greater Everglades ecosystem.

Restoring Biodiversity
The Everglades, a subtropical ecosystem, has the highest biological diversity value in the continental U.S. The Everglades is home to some of the world’s most distinctive plant and animal communities including 68 federally listed endangered or threatened species, and 29 candidate species—the most in the country. It is also a critical flyway for a wide variety of the migratory bird species.

Restoration must maximize and protect a healthy, self-sustaining mosaic of ecological community types that recreates the unique diversity of the historic Everglades ecosystem. This involves protecting and expanding the current area of South Florida’s natural ecosystems, restoring lost habitat types, reestablishing connection among ecological communities to reduce fragmentation, and creating buffer zones between developed and natural areas.

The Everglades has been abused for more than 100 years. Its restoration is the most ambitious environmental challenge our nation has ever undertaken. The outcome is uncertain and depends on how much Americans recognize the need to balance the use and conservation of natural resources. Moreover, restoration faces such obstacles as the actual implementation of funding at the state and federal levels, access to new technologies, and a balanced allocation of water that satisfies drinking water and agricultural needs without harming the environment. If our effort is successful, restoration of the Everglades will serve as the hemispheric model for sustainability. In all the world, there is only one Everglades.

April H. Gromnicki is the Everglades Policy Coordinator for the National Audubon Society of Florida. Ms. Gromnicki joined the staff of Audubon in 1996. Ms. Gromnicki will graduate from Univ. of Miami Law School in 2001 with a Juris Doctorate degree. Additional material provided by Erin Deady, Esq., Environmental Counsel for Audubon of Florida.

 


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