Once again it seems that most view Florida’s problems as just Lake O. and the Everglades. And once again, we see people scurrying around wringing their hands and trying to fix a problem in front of them, not looking to the source in order to stop it.
Where are the legislative bills to stop greenhouse gases?
But mainly here Mr. Rossi seems unaware that the crisis is already here. Our springs and rivers are overall approximately 30 per cent down in flow from historical times. They are becoming toxic with algae because of septic tanks and because we allow agriculture to put unlimited amounts of fertilizer into our aquifer. We know that spring and river flow is critical to maintain the aquatic eco-world for water quality and the health of its plant and animal inhabitants.
But it will get worse. Probably Mr. Rossi is thinking ahead to the day the irrigation pumps will spew salt water onto the crops and we want to take a dip in the spring but find it has disappeared. Some of our water managers think that if there is a little water still in the spring then everything is OK and we can continue to give water permits to everyone who asks for one.
If we continue our current unsustainable policies, that day will come.
Read the original article with photos here in the Palm Beach Post.
Comments by OSFR historian Jim Tatum.
jim.tatum@oursantaferiver.org
– A river is like a life: once taken,
it cannot be brought back © Jim Tatum
As another year begins, conversation flows on issues surrounding Florida’s water, exploring opportunities to make progress on several fronts.
There are two major water issues await Florida officials and lawmakers: The first relates to water on the interior of our state, the second is focused on the water that surrounds us.
Let’s begin with the interior – Lake Okeechobee. After years of moving toward a new management plan for the Lake, a final framework was established for the new Lake Okeechobee Systems Operations Manual, better known as LOSOM. While many of the metrics released by the Army Corps show some improvement to water supply which directly impacts South Florida’s nearly 7 million residents, it stops short of offering some crucial assurances to these communities – particularly in terms of how our water will be managed in the event of a shortage….
Moving to the exterior – sea level rise. The Legislature was correct to identify sea level rise as a priority and establish a trust fund to enable work to mitigate this encroaching crisis. For the 2022 session, legislation has been introduced that builds on this momentum: Senate Bill 1238, or “Saltwater Intrusion Vulnerability Assessments.” This bill requires Florida’s 35 coastal counties to study infrastructure to determine how prepared they are against saltwater intrusion, one of the primary effects of sea level rise. Secondly, less-populated coastal areas can obtain cost-share assistance from the trust fund established last year.
