The Florida Everglades

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The Florida Everglades Americas Rhine?

1. Historical water flow and landscape features
2. A century of engineering modifications 1880 -
   1980
3. Changes in flow and associated environmental
   problems
4. Overview of the current Restoration Plan (CERP)
5. CERP constraints and uncertainties

Web site for additional info www.evergladesplan.o
rg
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The Historical Everglades
Kissimmee River
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The Historical Everglades
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The Historical Everglades
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Events during early statehood
http//everglades.fiu.edu/reclaim/timeline/index.h
tm
1855-58 Third Seminole War 1861-65 Civil
War 1860's-1870's Railroad and canal companies
face financial ruin with devaluation of
confederate currency. 1881 Philadelphia
millionaire Hamilton Disston negotiates to drain
lands overflowed by Lake Okeechobee and the
Kissimmee River in exchange for one-half the
reclaimed land.
1845 Florida admitted into the Union as the 27th
state. 1847-48 Engineer Buckingham Smith hired to
examine and survey the South Florida wilderness,
reporting on its value and feasibility for
reclamation to Congress. 1850 U.S. Congress
grants swamp lands to Florida for the purpose of
drainage and reclamation.
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Drainage History
New York Times, February 18, 1881 The
reclamation of 12,000,000 acres of land, or
one-third of the States of the Union, has been
undertaken by a company of Philadelphia gentleman
with every prospect of success...The project of
reclaiming this wonderfully rich country has been
talked of for years, and it has long been
considered feasible by many noted engineers...The
leading man in this enterprise is Hamilton
Disston, a young gentleman of great business
energy and ample fortune, and present head of the
great saw-manufacturing firm of Henry Disston
Sons.
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NEW CHANNEL CONSTRUCTION
CHANNEL DREDGING AND STRAIGHTENING
FIRST LARGE SCALE DRAINAGE EFFORT IN SOUTH FLORIDA
HAMILTON DISSTON CONSTRUCTION 1881-1894
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Drainage History (continued)
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River of grass replaced (now) by sugar cane
fields and water conservation areas
Sugar cane is profitable to grow in Florida
primarily due to the US trade embargo on Cuba
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Deadly hurricanes in 1926 and 1928 caused
flooding of Lake Okeechobee
Fort Lauderdale, 1926
Belle Glade, 1928
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Drainage History (continued)
HERBERT HOOVER DIKE 1932-1938
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Drainage History (continued)
AREAS FLOODED IN 1947
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The 1950s 1980s
CENTRAL SOUTHERN FLORIDA (CSF) PROJECT
1,000 miles of canals 720 miles of levees 200
water control structures
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Continued Channelization of the Lower Kissimmee
River in the 1960s
Lock and dam structure
Straightened channel with remnant meander that is
now cut off from main flow
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Continued Expansion of Agriculture and Urban Areas
Dramatic Change in Flows
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Environmental Consequences
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Land subsidence and loss of peat soil
http//pubs.usgs.gov/circ/circ1182/pdf/12Everglade
s.pdf
ft above sea level
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Other Indicators of Ecosystem Problems

• 68 plant and animal species are threatened or
  endangered
• Over 1.5 million acres infested with invasive,
  exotic plants

Brazilian pepper is an aggressive non-native
plant. It grows as a shrub or small tree, is
related to poison ivy and can grow between 10 and
40 feet tall. Its growth is dense so it prevents
the growth of other vegetation.
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The 1990s Planning for the CERP
Approved in the Water Resources Development Act
of 2000 Includes more than 60 elements Will take
more than 30 years to construct Will cost an
estimated 7.8 billion
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Constraints
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Principal Features and Uncertainties

• Surface Water Storage Reservoirs
• Aquifer Storage Recovery
• Stormwater Treatment Areas
• Reuse Wastewater
• Seepage Management
• Removing Barriers to Sheetflow
• Operational Changes to Structures

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Aquifer Storage Recovery (ASR) Idealized System
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Existing ASR Wells in Florida (from USGS WRI
Report 02-4036)
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CERP ASRs will include over 300 wells each with a
capacity of 5 million gallons per day Major
Questions

• Effects on regional groundwater flow and
  pressures below confining unit
• Efficiency of recovery after long storage periods

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Additional Questions

• Fate of potential contaminants (e.g. microbes,
  mercury, nutrients) that are present in source
  water
• Geochemical and biogeochemical reactions due to
  mixing and water rock interactions

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Most Important Question

• Will recovered water be of suitable quality for
  the ecosystem?

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But

• Well designed pilot projects will require 5-10
  years to yield results
• Hydrogeologic conditions may limit storage
  options
• Need for contingency planning now

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If there is not enough water (or water storage)
to satisfy all needs, what are the options?

1. Accept increased flood risk in urban areas
2. Condemn sugar holdings in the Everglades
   Agricultural Area to provide more land for
   surface reservoirs
3. Restrictions on public water supply
4. Allow increased fluctuations in Lake Okeechobee
   water levels (affecting fishing, boating and
   waterfowl hunting, as well as water supply for
   surrounding communities)
5. Provide less water to Everglades National Park
   than that required for habitat improvement