Hydrology and Land Use

Of all the changes to south Florida’s natural systems, tampering with the vast expanses of wetlands has had the greatest impact on the integrity of the Everglades ecosystem. Early drainage efforts sought to reduce water levels in particular to develop agriculture in marsh and swamp lands, with little regard for conserving water for irrigation and potable uses. Fresh water was thought to be exhaustible, and flood control efforts focused on directing interior waters through canals to coastal tidal waters as quickly as possible. Within a few decades, however, uncontrolled drainage brought many problems, notably endangering the water supply for the human population, causing uncontrollable soil fires with attendant choking smoke, and in fact not preventing floods very well in extremely wet years.

Changes in Everglades Hydrology

The above graphic represents the change in flow patterns of water through the Everglades system from historic to modern times. The large amount of water diverted towards the east in the modern graphic illustrates the amount of water consumed by the urban coastal communities or pumped into the Altantic Ocean to keep people dry. 

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