Monday, July 4, 2011

Water Pollution In Florida

Water pollution is a huge problem in Florida, partly because it is so populated. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the EPA, realizes that water pollution is a problem in Florida and they are taking steps to correct the problem. They realize that green slime is coating some of our waters, so they have decided to enforce new regulations, but they will not take effect until early 2012 because of the costs. Rivers and lakes in Florida are being polluted and it is causing fish and other species to die. The types of pollution they are trying to eliminate comes from treated sewage, stormwater runoff, agricultural drainage, and industrial discharges that affect our streams, lakes, rivers and springs. Although it will cost millions of dollars to make the changes, you cannot put a price on clean water.


Sewage and industrial waste are not the only pollutants. Fertilizers and pesticides, waste from pets, household garbage, and oil from automobiles are also pollutants that severely affect our drinking water, our plants and animals, and our swimming areas. The good thing is that we have control over these pollutants and we can do things to limit them. For example, we can limit the amount of fertilizer or pesticide we use and try to use it when rain is not expected. This will keep it from washing off the lawn and into ground waters. It is also helpful to wash cars in the grass so the runoff will stay in the ground and not wash into bodies of water in the area. If people also pick up animal waste from their pets and use biodegradable products that decompose instead of polluting the earth, we could make a big difference in the pollution levels in Florida.


We still need help because of the pollution from businesses and farms that we cannot control, and this is the area where the government is stepping in. Although Governor Rick Scott would like Florida to set its own water pollution standards, a bill passed the House that lowers the standards for how much pollution goes into Florida waters. The current standards were enacted in 1968, and many people are worried about lowering them because it will impact our water. Currently, there are five classes of water and they are based on how the water is used. There are limits on how much pollution can be dumped into the waterways to keep the levels in a given body of water from degrading to a lower class because it would change how that water could be used. However, with the new standards experts are worried that the water-quality will decline tremendously. The bill is headed for the Senate, but it will be awhile before it is considered.


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1 comment:

  1. RavenJuly 21, 2011 at 1:53 PM

    I can see how water pollution is such a big problem for Florida considering we are a peninsula. Tampa especially is so populated it causes huge concerns for the local beaches. I live near the port of Tampa and there is a park right on the bay and the water is absolutely disgusting, it's brown and you can see tires and other objects in the water and people actually fish there!! All I can say is I hope they're practicing catch and release! When I was younger I lived by a water treatment facility and our neighborhood would frequently smell like raw sewage, it was gross. There was a small channel next to the plant and the water there was absolutely terrible, I was thankful we had city water in our house and not a well! -Raven Sanchez

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