Issue of the Quarter (April-June, 2015)
Water Issues
“Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink!”
Yes, there is a lot of water from many sources – the oceans and seas, the rivers and lakes, the frozen
waters of the Arctic and Antarctic regions and under much of the ground we stand on. But with rapid
population growth and industrialization competing uses of water are creating many problems. In
many places in the world the water supplies have become polluted through industrial, agricultural
and residential runoff that impacts the amount of clean water. One result has been increased
salinizatiion of fresh water supplies and changes in the salt level of oceans and seas. In addition, the
high demand for seafood has resulted in reduced supplies of much needed nutrients. And, the rapidly
increasing demand for water is causing reduced availability of underground water supplies and
destruction of the aquifers where the water has been located.
Is there enough for the needs of a rapidly growing population? Probably there is, but in order to
supply useable water where it is needed, we will have to find ways to conserve water resources and
to develop inexpensive techniques to increase water supplies.
Some specific areas of concern are:
Potable Water – How do we ensure that everyone has access to clean water. Who owns the water?
Will water supplies be privatized?
Water for Agriculture – with population growth and more demand for crops and meat – where will the
water come from and how will it be controlled so as to ensure the safety of the adjacent water needs.
Ocean Resources – the decline in ocean life and its impact. How will we control world fisheries? Is fish
farming a suitable way to provide a large portion of the supply of seafood?
The Rivers and Lakes – Are they too being overfished. What happens to the wildlife that depends on
these fresh water supplies. What are the effects of pollution and drying up of many of these sources of
water as population and its need for more agricultural goods expands.
Of course to add to the problems, scientists are predicting that climate change will cause rising seas and
increased frequency of flooding, drought and other severe weather conditions. The rapid rise of the
seas is due to a rise in temperature that is already causing rapid melting of glaciated areas in the Arctic
and Antarctic. How fast will this happen in the future? What needs to be done? Who will take
responsibility for needed actions.
At this time, I will move from the general to the specific and talk a little about what is happening here in
Florida and what is being done about it and what needs to be done.
Rapid population growth and climate change – how do they and how will they impact Florida?
We are already seeing some of the impact associated with Florida’s rapid population growth and
climate change. The underground sources of water are in grave danger in Southeastern and in other
areas of the state. In the southeast where the Biscayne aquifer is the main source of drinking water, salt
water has already intruded into the system. Rising sea levels increase the backpressure on coastal
aquifers, reduce groundwater flow toward the ocean and cause the saltwater front to move inland, thus
threatening to contaminate water-supply wells in coastal areas. Also in the southernmost Everglades,
sea-level rise will cause brackish waters to encroach further. In our area, underground water supplies
are endangered by overuse and the aquifer is in grave danger. In other parts of Florida, underground
streams have dried up and brackish water has replaced the pristine water in many of the famous
springs.
Of course, Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades have long been a major concern for South Florida, not
only because they were a major source of water supplies but also because the Everglades, in particular,
are a unique biological area and an important habitat for wildlife. Some time ago, investors found that
much of the area was also suitable for raising citrus trees, sugar and tomatoes and they bought up huge
chunks of land. Unfortunately, the runoff from their activities turned the lake into a sewer which in turn
caused drastic changes to the Everglades as well. To curb these activities, the Federal and State
governments stepped in to place controls on the activities which led to great reductions in pollution.
However, there continues to be a lot of conflict between the growers and the conservationists as well as
residents of affected areas. The growers spend huge amounts of money lobbying state legislators in
order to protect their interests often at the expense of citizens who live in the area and conservation in
general.
Another major area of concern in the state is the amount of money the state budgets for conservation
of our natural habitat. Because many people felt the State was not doing enough, citizens of the state
got Amendment 1 placed on last years ballot. This amendment called for a definite amount to be set
aside for these purposes in future state budgets. Seventy five percent of the voters approved the
amendment. Now the legislature is fine tuning the budget and finding ways to fund other activities that
are not directly related to the intention of the amendment from the money that must be set aside.
There are many other areas that demand our attention as concerned citizens such as the impact of
phosphate mining, the possible impact of opening our coastal waters to drilling for oil and gas, the
existence of many sink holes in parts of the state, and the possibility of fracking if petroleum and gas
engineers feel a need for it, etc. etc
What can we, as individuals, do.
Political action: We can call and/or write to our legislators to ensure that they are aware of the
problems and tell them to take actions to resolve them. And we must be willing to help candidates that
will take action and oppose those who will not.
Education: We can educate ourselves on what is happening (you can find a lot on the net – also,
I highly recommend you read an article in the February 2015 issue of National Geographic Magazine
called Treading Water which talks about climate change and how it may impact Florida).
Individual Actions: We can take steps to reduce consumption of water and to protect our
environment. For some ideas see “Earth Day 2011: Sacred Waters” (copies are available on the
information table).
Al Usack for the Social Just Committee of MUUF