The Freshwater Alliance at Rollins (FAR) recently welcomed native Floridian freelance writer, journalist, and author John Dunn to speak about his book, “Drying Up: The Fresh Water Crisis in Florida.” Florida is currently facing a water crisis that is approaching the severity of California’s shortage. In his presentation, Dunn noted that Florida receives about 55 trillion gallons of rain a year and, in reality, only uses 1 trillion gallons of those gallons. So, if there are 54 trillion gallons that go unused, how are we in a water crisis?
Here in Central Florida, our water supply is mainly underground in the Floridan aquifer, unlike other states who depend on rivers and lakes for water. An aquifer is an underground layer of rock or sediment that stores and releases groundwater. To access this water, we usually pump it out with wells, or they come out naturally from the ground through springs. However, aquifers don’t just fill up on their own. Rather, they depend on a process called “recharge.”
Aquifer recharge comes from rainwater that infiltrates and permeates through the soil to find its way back to the aquifer (recharging the aquifer). Florida’s natural ecosystems, such as Sandhill and Scrub habitats, allow for 100 percent-permeation. This is why there were no instances of water crises in the past. However, due to the rapid and extensive development and urbanization of Florida, water no longer has a way back down to the aquifer.
We have drained and developed over recharge-essential ecosystems, not only Sandhill and Scrub, but also various wetlands. We have covered these recharge areas with impermeable surfaces, such as concrete and asphalt. These surfaces cause water to pool up and pollute with substances, such as car fluid, pesticides, and other harmful chemicals. So instead of water following its natural path down into the aquifer, it becomes “runoff” and ends up in local water bodies, like lakes and rivers.
Due to contaminants in runoff, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, the water becomes nutrient-rich. As time goes on, more and more of this nutrient-rich runoff begins to build up and pollute our lakes and other freshwater ecosystems. Not only does this make conditions unsuitable for wildlife but also unsafe for humans. In addition, this nutrient build-up begins to change the chemistry of the bodies of water in a process called eutrophication. One of the most prevalent issues that comes from eutrophication is algal or algae blooms. The nutrients in the contaminated runoff act as a food source for algae, leading to rapid and uncontrolled growth. This is what causes the visible mass of algae, which can make lakes appear a pea green. These masses of algae prevent sunlight from reaching the other organisms in the water that photosynthesize, which begins to set off a chain reaction known as a “trophic cascade”. If one level of the food chain is messed up, the other levels will follow. In this case, the plants that now have limited access to sunlight will decrease in abundance, meaning a reduction in the food source for animals that eat them, and so on.
Even though this process is most common in lakes, eutrophication can lead to various issues within all bodies of water, including the ocean. Another type of algal bloom that is more commonly known is the Red Tide that frequently occurs on the Gulf Coast. Red Tide is known as a harmful algal bloom (HAB) because the algae produce harmful toxins that only cause cold-like symptoms in adults but are extremely dangerous to young children.
We see the occurrence of these dangerous algal blooms increasing at an alarming rate. Even though climate change has a huge role in this increase, it all ties back to the rapid urbanization and development of poorly thought infrastructure of Florida.
If infrastructure and urbanization are at fault for the water crisis, why don’t we stop building? Well, that proves difficult when considering how many people there really are in Florida. According to a report by 1000 Friends of Florida, Florida’s net growth (the sum of how many people leave vs. move in) is about 1000 people per day. That ends up equaling a city the size of Orlando every year. On top of that, Florida’s population is estimated to increase by 75 percent by 2070, meaning 15 million new residents. This will cause a 53.7 percent increase in demand for water. This is not even considering the number of visitors that Florida attracts, coming in at over 140 million per year since 2023.
So, what have we been doing to combat the worsening water crisis? We have tried to access offshore aquifers, desalinate water, and store water in reservoirs, all having proved to be economically, practically, and sustainably unfeasible. While these technological solutions seem to have fallen short, one of the solutions lies in Florida nature itself: our wetlands.
A wetland is a low-lying area of land that’s saturated with water, either permanently or seasonally, such as the Everglades. They act like water filtration systems by absorbing nutrients as they head downstream, cleaning the water. We hold our very own wetland right in our backyard: the Orlando Wetlands Park. The Orlando Wetlands Park is a man-made wetland designed to provide advanced treatment for reclaimed water from the City of Orlando and other local cities to return to the local ecosystems and water bodies, such as the St. Johns River.
Reclaimed water holds lots of nutrients from the cleaning process, such as phosphorus, nitrogen, and even chlorine. If we were to dump this water straight into the St. Johns, overtime it would destroy the ecosystems via eutrophication. So, this is where the wetlands come into play. As the reclaimed water moves through the wetlands, the different plants absorb the nutrients and purify the water as it goes through. By the time it reaches the St. Johns River basin, the water is nutrient free, having no impact on the local ecosystems upon entry.
Not only do wetlands aid in keeping native ecosystems alive, but they also act as recharge zones for the aquifer. Wetlands can absorb surface water and allow it to slowly infiltrate into the ground, recharging the groundwater supply.
With the exponential increase of demand for water, we need to protect and conserve our natural (and manmade) wetlands to ensure that the water that our ecosystems are receiving is safe to not just the wildlife but also for us. We also need to begin implementing the use of permeable surfaces, such as fired-clay brick pavers, pervious concrete, and porous asphalt. These will aid in both the recharging of the aquifers and reducing surface runoff issues, such as water pollution and eutrophication.
If you want to experience wetlands for yourself, come join the Freshwater Alliance at the Orlando Wetlands Park for the “Water is Life” festival! The festival is a free event that educates the public about Florida’s ecosystems and how the Orlando Wetlands and the City of Orlando are working to protect and sustain those environments. Activities include environmental education exhibitions, native plant giveaways, guided bus tours of the Orlando Wetlands, guest speakers, and more! Please visit FAR’s Instagram page for more details @freshwateralliance_rollins.
This article was written by a student employee at The Freshwater Alliance at Rollins and reflects the author’s experience and expertise regarding FAR’s mission and work. The Freshwater Alliance at Rollins (FAR) is an organization that aims to engage the Central Florida community in transdisciplinary approaches to spark learning and action related to our freshwater resources and ecosystems. We encourage a deeper understanding of the multifaceted issues affecting Central Florida’s watershed by combining environmental and scientific disciplines with the humanities. With this approach, we explore the relationship between STEM and the social, economic, and cultural dynamics related to freshwater to gain a better understanding of our environment.
The opinions on this page do not necessarily reflect those of The Sandspur or Rollins College. Have any additional tips or opinions? Send us your response. We want to hear your voice.
Comments are closed.