Another problem facing the region related to water is the discharge of nutrient laden water from the EAA and Lake Okeechobee. The earnest efforts of water mangers to keep agricultural runoff out of Lake Okeechobee by diverting it instead to Water Conservation Areas, is thought to have been responsible for an extensive proliferation of cattails in these areas. Areas dominated by cattail do not favor the development of beneficial food supplies for wading birds, and thus even more wetlands effectively are removed from their utilization. Most experts agree that nutrient impacts on the Everglades ecosystem are a growing problem, but of small magnitude compared to the history of hydrologic impacts of altered water quantities and flows. Because of low background levels, phosphorous is the key consideration in nutrient enrichment of the Everglades. Considerable effort has been devoted to remove phosphorous from waters potentially entering the Everglades region. The South Florida Water Management District has constructed a demonstration project for wetland treatment, which consists of 4,000 acres adjacent to the northwest side of the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge. The formation of peat soils is the long-term means of phosphorous removal. The goal is to reduce the average influent concentration of phosphorus from 150 ppb to somewhere between 10 and 50 ppb; if successful, as much as 35,000 additional acres for storm water treatment may be constructed to treat EAA waters.

[Current Problems][Previous][Next]