Introduction
Groundwater is the largest and most available usable source of drinking water in the state. There is a vast and mysterious system of caves and natural springs in North Central Florida. The cave system within the aquifer is one of the most amazing parts. The caves are remarkable in many ways. They are among the deepest and longest in the world, let alone the U.S. Another amazing aspect of the system is the purity of the water. The springs collectively produce billions of gallons of crystal clear water per day. The whole system stems from the Florida Aquifer that rests under the entire state. When most people think of Florida, they think of the weather and the beaches, but its the springs and the whole water system of the Florida Aquifer that makes the State so lush. The springs are an invaluable resource and natural wonder of the state. Combined, the system of 320 known springs produces nearly 8 billion gallons of water per day, more than the state currently uses (although at present population growth, this remains to be seen). The springs of North Florida have always been a wonder. From the days of the Spanish Conquistadors searching for the "fountain of youth" to the millions of tourists that come to visit the springs today they have intrigued and amazed. With crystal clear waters feeding rivers that can disappear as quickly as they appeared the springs truly are an amazing sight. It was always thought that these springs were an unlimited resource, but scientists have discovered that man's influence can harm these spring. The Biscayne Aquifer in South Florida are already showing signs of a reduced flow due to the overpopulation of the area. The whole system is very fragile and we must all be ...
... middle of paper ...
...d protect the water. There are grass roots organizations trying to help their areas and organizations like NSWA, but we need some cohesive concerted group effort if anything is going to get done. Individuals need to do their part to help preserve and protect the natural springs and the whole water system. The NSWA continues its lobbying of the FDA in its fight with the bottlers that use boreholes. Other groups are also helping and if they work together they may yet save one of our states most important resources. Although groups like the NSWA and Save Our Springs, Inc. have won small battles and stalled the advances of some companies, they are facing a booming 3 billion dollar industry with its own powerful lobbyists. The battle is far from over to protect our springs and everyone should be made aware of their obligation to help protect this invaluable resource.
Floridians lives on top of a limestone foundation that was once upon a time was a shallow coral sea and is now riddled with caves. In the film Water’s Journey: Hidden Rivers of Florida there were divers tracking the path of water through underground caves, specifically Florida’s aquifers. They were navigating through the complicated system of undergrounds rivers from where water disappears underground to where it resurfaces in the springs of Florida.
Nature designed Florida to be one large marine ecosystem. Florida is one big sand peninsula located below the 40th longitudinal North American line. Three bodies of salt water (Gulf of Mexico, Strait of Florida and Atlantic Ocean) surround three out of four directions of Florida. Man-made canals, natural lakes, rivers and estuaries are confined within the State of Florida’s physical boundaries. All of these form an interlocking system of waterways that impact the interconnected marine environment (marine ecosystem). All of Florida’s waterways are connected back to the surrounding bodies of water while passing through Florida’s sub-tropical and temperate zones and impact the delicate marine ecosystem balance. Man and nature are causing a negative impact to this region like never before. Hurricanes, lack of green initiatives, garbage, pollution and the stripping of natural resources for population growth are decimating Florida’s natural ecosystems.
SSSSS!! "There's a snake!" Welcome to the most fascinating place in the world, the Florida everglades.It's values are very important , it helps the plants ad animals have habitats, food, and places to live.It also helps lots of humans in Florida with water supplies.
Maintaining ecological diversity is necessary for the survival of a biological community. In the United States, American citizens are on the verge of irrevocably damaging one of the country's most unique and diverse treasures - the Florida Everglades. This national park is now the only remaining patch of a river that used to span 120 miles from Lake Okeechobee to the Florida Bay. Dikes and levees created by the Army Corps of Engineers in the late 1940's drained this river to reduce flooding and increase useable water for the development of the region. This major diversion of water lead to a trickle down effect causing the continual decline of the environmental state of the Everglades. Since then, debates over the Everglades' future have silently raged on for years about how, why, and when the restoration will begin. This ongoing, but virtually unproductive effort has cost taxpayers a great deal without any apparent benefits. Recently, this debate has been amplified by the voices of the sugar industry in Florida, which was attacked for its major contribution to pollution of the Everglades. Now debates rage on with a new effort called the Restudy. Backed by the Army Corps of Engineers, this effort would change the flow of the Everglades, potentially restoring it into the viable community of life that it used to be. The question now is, will this latest attempt to restore the Everglades ever be realized (thus ending the cyclic Everglades debate) or will it simply add up to one more notch on the bedpost of inadequate and failed attempts to save this national treasure. The world is watching to see how the United States will handle this unprecedented cleanup.
Farmers and ranchers who own water rights should have their water amount filled earlier in order to facilitate themselves with the proper amount of water. They should not be restricted to a smaller prearranged amount of water each year. Water us...
Texas, with its abundances of natural resources, is facing a new demon, one that doesn’t even seem possible, a shortage of water. Water, without it nothing can survive. Texas is the second largest state for landmass in the nation and ninth for water square miles. Within the borders of Texas are more than 100 lakes, 14 major rivers, and 23 aquifers, so why has water become such an important issue for the state? Politicians and conservationists all agree that without a new working water plan, the state could be facing one of the most damaging environmental disasters they have ever seen. The issues that shape the states positions are population growth, current drought conditions, and who actually owns the water.
As global temperatures and ocean levels rise, the water levels of the Great Lakes continues to fall. As the lakes hit their all time lowest level in global history in 2012, society remains ignorant to the imposing doom that lurks ahead. Since the Great Lakes make up the largest group of fresh water lakes on Earth and are responsible for approximately 21% of the Earth’s fresh water supply, this issue is becoming one of the largest environmental and economical issues our modern world faces. The effects of this issue include destroying animal habitats and a major economic market; shipping. Water levels in the Great Lakes have been dropping for the past fourteen years, but it wasn’t until boats were scraping the bottom of Lake Huron that people began to take notice. This terrible environmental issue has been dubbed a long term cycle of over evaporation and not enough precipitation to replenish the Lakes. Keith Kompoltowicz, chief of watershed hydrology for the United States Army Corps of Engineers in Detroit has been monitoring this issue for a decade and has made startling discoveries, such as in 2012, he discovered Lake Michigan and Lake Huron’s water levels only rose four inches after winter, whereas the Lakes have been regularly recorded as gaining a foot of water after the winter season had ended. This amount of water added is not enough to maintain a proper water level during the dry, hot summer seasons that evaporate much water from the Great Lakes. While some scientists say that this is just a cycle that will adjust itself naturally, most experts that have been studying this phenomenon, such as Kompoltwicz, would agree that the issue has gone to far
Did you know that it would take an estimated 1 billion dollars to restore the Everglades? The Everglades National Park is a wetland with grass, marshes, and hardwood hammocks on the southern part of Florida. The U.S. “Army Corps of Engineers” and many other groups are trying to find a way to fix the water supply in the Everglades. Not only does it have an effect on humans it also has an effect on animals.
Key West is many people's paradise. It has dazzling waters, beautiful beaches, and a wonderful climate. This tiny island is located off the southernmost part of Florida is the only true tropical island in the United States. Thousands of people from all over the world come to Key West every year for the relaxing lifestyle and rich culture. As well as being rich in culture it is rich in history too. Key West has also been the home to many great authors and artists and is known for having a very diverse population.
Americans today tend to believe that the Colorado River drought has been a recent occurrence, although drought relief strategies have been implemented since early 1997. To summarize, in the book The Colorado River Basin Drought Planning and Organizations, Colorado is named as the original state to acquire a drought relief plan. For instance, various assume water levels are diminutive in the Colorado and blame is due to the previous ten years of drought throughout the United States. Although it is true that water levels are at a record low, initial plans in the early 1920’s to introduce manufactured structures into the water basin is the original reason Colorado’s water system began to be compromised. It follows, then the supplementary natural
The Everglades, also known as the River of Grass, is one of South Florida's most treasured areas. It is an area still full of wonder and mystery. The Everglades is lined with a specific type of limestone bedrock formed by tiny organisms called byrozoans. These animals, though not related to coral, act like coral by extracting dissolved limestone from the sea water around them and using it to construct protective chambers in which to live. They then attach to various kinds of sea grasses on the ocean floor and coat them as well. Individual chambers combine together to form rock-like structures. Over thousands of years, when South Florida was completely submerged, a vast amount of this limestone combined with other ocean sediments and was laid down over the area now covered by the Everglades. Prior to the draining activities of humans and its use as an agricultural area, the Everglades was flooded about nine to eleven months of the year. It also lost only about 0.03 inches of soil per year. After the drainage the Everglades began losing soil at approximately 1 inch per year. Now, however, it is only losing 0.56 inches per year.
The water supply of Florida is important for a number of reasons. But it is crucial because it not only helped develop human society but it is also continually sustaining it. There are a number of phases and processes that take place to make this happen.
Water is essential to life. By being so important it is crucial to keep it maintained and preserved. Our water supply is affected by environmental, economic, and legal issues. In Oklahoma water is very sacred to its people especially to Native Americans. Both Choctaw and Chickasaw nations are suing the state of Oklahoma for the regulatory authority over Sardis Lake and the water resources it holds. The Choctaw and Chickasaw nations deserve the rights over Sardis Lake because it is their main water supply and they own the rights through the treaty of the Dancing Rabbit Creek of 1830.
Miller, Debra A. Will the World Run out of Fresh Water? Detroit: Greenhaven, 2007. Print.
Rogers, Peter. 2008. "Facing the Freshwater CRISIS. (Cover story)." Scientific American 299, no. 2: 46-53. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed November 4, 2010).