Inform Article

Everglades Restoration Project

07.28.2010
By Ted Schaeffer of Florida Public Health Institute
Everglades Restoration Project picture

 The Florida Everglades were once a vast, free-flowing river of grass extending from the Kissimmee chain of lakes to the Florida Bay.  As early as the late 1800s, changes in land use began to affect the delicate balance of this sub-tropical wetland.  Currently 1,700 miles of canals and levees interrupt the Everglades natural flow and send valuable freshwater out to sea.  Along with multiple species of plants, fish and animals, the human species also depends on this unique eco-system. In addition to its environmental diversity, the Everglades provide much needed fresh water to South Florida for drinking, business and household use, and agriculture.

More than half of the Everglades wetlands have been lost during the many years of Florida real estate development.  South Florida's fresh water supply has been over allocated and, combined with drought, caused serious water shortages.

Indicators of water quality problems from disruption to the natural flow of the Everglades include:

  • - 1.7 billion gallons of water per day on average lost through discharge to the ocean;
  • - 1 million acres of the ecosystem under health advisories for mercury contamination;
  • - Repetitive water shortages and salt water intrusion.

Other Indicators of Ecosystem Problems are:

  • - 90-95% reduction in wading bird populations, 68 plant and animal species are threatened or endangered;
  • - Declining population levels of commercially and recreationally important fish species in the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee estuaries and Biscayne and Florida bays;
  • - Defoliation of sea grasses, fish kills and deformed fish within the St. Lucie estuary;
  • - Continued reduction in number of birds initiating breeding in south Florida.

Currently a plan is underway, the Everglades Restoration Plan, to restore the Everglade's natural flow of water.  This improvement will benefit the water quality and levels of water thereby improving the health of more than 2.4 million acres of the South Florida ecosystem and ensuring a reliable, adequate supply of fresh water for use and improved conditions for native plants and animals.  "The Everglades restoration project can provide Florida with much needed fresh water supplies, heading off any health related problems associated with shortages and environmental impacts" according to Dr. Earl Fox, Director of the Florida Public Health Institute in Lake Worth, Florida.

For more information on the Everglades Restoration Plan, see: http://www.evergladesplan.org/index.aspx