Water Pollution In South Florida

In the first comprehensive review of its kind the stockholm environment institute sei based at tufts university has released a white paper entitled valuing florida s clean waters.

Water pollution in south florida. Floridians deserve clean drinking water not water polluted with sewage fertilizer and manure runoff. Across the nation the system that congress created to protect the nation s waters under the clean water act of 1972 today often fails to prevent pollution. Protecting your family from toxic algae protecting our economy from algae outbreaks the source of toxic algae outbreaks setting clear pollution limits. It is time for florida to establish limits on the water pollution that threatens families health and drinking water.

Along the way stormwater runoff can pick up all kinds of pollutants including fertilizers and pesticides from lawns and yards as well as oils and coolant spilled from roadways and cars. About 1 686 bodies of water in florida are currently classified as impaired by the fdep largely due to pollution created by humans and much of which is not adequately tackled. The new york times has compiled data. Early summer in southwest florida means spiking water pollution.

This pollution is poisoning the rivers lakes and streams that supply the water to kitchen taps. The reclaimed water in florida is better than some. South florida was expressly engineered to prevent too much water from moving south which is why most of the flow from the lake is pushed east and west. The biscayne aquifer is south florida s main supply of water providing approximately 330 million gallons daily.

The paper finds that algae and red tide outbreaks caused by water pollution cost floridians between 1 3 billion and 10 5 billion each year. Once treated the water is used for reclaimed water uses such as irrigation or is discharged into the river. When rain falls south florida landscapes are designed to channel excess storm water into communities stormwater collection systems into the swales in our driveways or other parts of our local or regional ponds lakes or canals. Canals to the south were dug to make way for.

Starting in late may subtropical rains sweep a winter s worth of discards into area waterways. In florida ewg tracked 93 contaminants across the state s water supply. Near the lee collier county border. Reclaimed water is high quality.