Florida Water Management Research Articles

Decision Support Systems for Water Management in Florida: Investigating Stakeholder Perceptions of System Use

Decision Support Systems for Water Management in Florida: Investigating Stakeholder Perceptions of System Use

Water Issues in Florida: How Extension Can Facilitate Stakeholder Engagement and Involvement

This 6-page fact sheet is a brief description of recent discussions and policies surrounding water management, use, and quality in Florida. The goal of this publication is to provide brief, but clear, information about the trends in policies that can be used by Extension agents to increase educated conversations about water issues. Water in Florida is a contested issue, and Extension agents may be called upon as a source of unbiased information by the public. Having an understanding of important agricultural and natural resources issues in Florida, including water, can help facilitate conversation, raise awareness, and lead to informed decision making. Written by Erica Odera, Alexa Lamm, Michael Dukes, Tracy Irani, and Hannah Carter, and published by the UF Department of Agricultural Education and Communication, December 2013. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/wc151

Book Review: River of Interests: Water Management in South Florida and the Everglades, 1948-2010

Book Review: River of Interests: Water Management in South Florida and the Everglades, 1948-2010

Using Radar Rainfall to Support Water Management in Florida

Using Radar Rainfall to Support Water Management in Florida

DETERMINING MINIMUM FLOWS AND LEVELS: THE FLORIDA EXPERIENCE

ABSTRACT: Florida water resources are among the most abundant in the United States, with Florida receiving the second-highest mean annual rainfall of all states. However, water supply issues have troubled the state due to the highly variable spatial and temporal distributions of water supply and demand, and they are aggravated by the population's preference for settling in coastal regions where freshwater resources are scarce. Historically, the competing issues of water resource development and natural systems protection have placed water management agencies and local governments at odds. In 1997, the Florida Legislature enacted several major changes to Florida water law in an attempt to improve water resource planning and protection. This paper briefly reviews the history of water management in Florida with an emphasis on decisions culminating in the 1997 legislation, which requires the development of minimum flows and levels. Also examined is the impact of the 1997 law on water management. Efforts made to comply with legislative mandates are summarized; these include, to date, establishment of minimum flows and levels on 209 water bodies and budgeting in excess of $1.4 billion for water resource development projects.

Plan to Quench the Everglades' Thirst

ECOLOGICAL RESTORATIONVice President Al Gore last week presented Congress with a Herculean challenge: to restore a more natural water flow to the Everglades, the vast wetland in southern Florida, while safeguarding the booming region's water supply. The $7.8 billion project, drawn up by the Army Corps of Engineers, would be the most expensive restoration effort ever undertaken. It calls for a 20-year overhaul of southern Florida's water management system that would, ironically, undo large portions of an equally ambitious plumbing system built by the Corps decades ago.

Agricultural best management practices and surface water improvement and management

Restoration and enhancement of Lake Okeechobee and the Florida Everglades requires a comprehensive approach to manage agricultural runoff. The Florida Surface Water Improvement and Management (SWIM) Act of 1987 was promulgated to develop and implement plans for protecting Florida waters. The South Florida Water Management District was directed by Florida legislature to develop management plans for Lake Okeechobee (SWIM) and the Everglades ecosystem (Marjory Stoneman Douglas Everglades Protection Act of 1991). These plans require agriculture to implement best management practices (BMPs) to reduce runoff phosphorus (P) loads. The Lake Okeechobee SWIM plan established a P load reduction target for Lake Okeechobee and set P concentration limitations for runoff from non-point source agricultural sources. Agricultural water users in the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) are required to develop farm management plans to reduce P loads from the basin by 25%. The Everglades Forever Act of 1994 additionally emphasized linkage of these landscapes and consequent protection and restoration of the Everglades. Agricultural BMPs are being developed and implemented to comply with water management, environmental, and regulatory standards. Although BMPs are improving runoff water quality, additional research is necessary to obtain the best combination of BMPs for individual farms. This paper summarizes the development of comprehensive water management in south Florida and the agricultural BMPs carried out to meet regulatory requirements for Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades.

Agricultural best management practices and surface water improvement and management

Restoration and enhancement of Lake Okeechobee and the Florida Everglades requires a comprehensive approach to manage agricultural runoff. The Florida Surface Water Improvement and Management (SWIM) Act of 1987 was promulgated to develop and implement plans for protecting Florida waters. The South Florida Water Management District was directed by Florida legislature to develop management plans for Lake Okeechobee (SWIM) and the Everglades ecosystem (Marjory Stoneman Douglas Everglades Protection Act of 1991). These plans require agriculture to implement best management practices (BMPs) to reduce runoff phosphorus (P) loads. The Lake Okeechobee SWIM plan established a P load reduction target for Lake Okeechobee and set P concentration limitations for runoff from non-point source agricultural sources. Agricultural water users in the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) are required to develop farm management plans to reduce P loads from the basin by 25%. The Everglades Forever Act of 1994 additionally emphasized linkage of these landscapes and consequent protection and restoration of the Everglades. Agricultural BMPs are being developed and implemented to comply with water management, environmental, and regulatory standards. Although BMPs are improving runoff water quality, additional research is necessary to obtain the best combination of BMPs for individual farms. This paper summarizes the development of comprehensive water management in south Florida and the agricultural BMPs carried out to meet regulatory requirements for Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades.

Land into Water-Water into Land: A History of Water Management in Florida

Land into Water-Water into Land: A History of Water Management in Florida

Land into Water — Water into Land: A History of Water Management in Florida. By Nelson Manfred Blake. (Tallahassee: University Presses of Florida, 1980. 334 pp. Illustrations, notes, and index. $19.95)

Land into Water Water into Land won the Florida Historical Society's 1982 Rembert W. Patrick Prize, awarded for the best book published about Florida. The Society's choice was wise; Blake has produced what appears to be the definitive work about one of Florida's most pervasive, controversial, and protracted problems water management. Florida virtually floats on water, it is surrounded by water, it is crisscrossed by water, it averages 70 inches of rainfall per year. Since the eighteenth century Floridians have attempted to control this element.

TVA: Bridge Over Troubled Waters. By North Callahan Land into Water — Water into Land: A History of Water Management in Florida. By Nelson M. Blake

Previous articleNext article No AccessBook ReviewsTVA: Bridge Over Troubled Waters. By North Callahan Land into Water — Water into Land: A History of Water Management in Florida. By Nelson M. BlakeAlfred RunteAlfred Runte Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Volume 26, Number 2April 1982 Published for the American Society for Environmental History and the Forest History Society Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.2307/4004534 Journal History This article was published in the Journal of Forest History (1974-1989), which was continued by Forest & Conservation History (1990-1995). © 1982 Forest History Society, Inc. All rights reserved.PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

Nelson Manfred Blake. <italic>Land into Water–Water into Land: A History of Water Management in Florida</italic>. (Florida State University Book.) Tallahassee: University Presses of Florida. 1980. Pp. viii, 344. $19.95

Journal Article Nelson Manfred Blake. Land into Water–Water into Land: A History of Water Management in Florida. (Florida State University Book.) Tallahassee: University Presses of Florida. 1980. Pp. viii, 344. $19.95 Get access Blake Nelson Manfred. Land into Water–Water into Land: A History of Water Management in Florida. (Florida State University Book.) Tallahassee: University Presses of Florida. 1980. Pp. viii, 344. $19.95. Frederick J. Dobney Frederick J. Dobney Loyola University, New Orleans Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar The American Historical Review, Volume 86, Issue 4, October 1981, Pages 954–955, https://doi.org/10.1086/ahr/86.4.954-a Published: 01 October 1981

Land into Water--Water into Land: A History of Water--Water into Land: A History of Water Management in Florida

Land into Water--Water into Land: A History of Water--Water into Land: A History of Water Management in Florida

Wetlands' Use for Water Management in Florida

The 2,300 square mile (6,000 km²) Kissimmee River Basin in Central Florida is under pressure for rapid expansion due to urban encroachment and agricultural activities. The river contributes the major portion of surface inflow and a substantial portion of the nutrient loads to Lake Okeechobee, the primary water supply source for South Florida. A basin-wide water management scheme has been proposed based on detention of runoff, restrictions of surface water discharge rates, and routing flow through natural or manmade marshes. The ability of these marshes to serve as quantity and quality control areas is evaluated, and specific questions are addressed concerning trade-offs among drainage, flood control, water supply, and water quality enhancement.

Land into Water--Water into Land: A History of Water Management in Florida.

Land into Water--Water into Land: A History of Water Management in Florida.

Land into Water--Water into Land: A History of Water Management in Florida

Land into Water--Water into Land: A History of Water Management in Florida

River Basin Simulation: An Interactive Engineering-Economic Approach to Operational Policy Evaluation

Traditionally man has used water for domestic needs, livestock, crop production and navigation; now he is also concerned with anesthetics, recreation, industrial production, waste disposal, power generation and aquatic ecological systems. He finds many of these uses incompatible and in conflict.Florida is encountering similar conflicts and in many ways is typical of other humid eastern states. The situation is especially dramatic because of extreme oscillations in rainfall — torrential tropical storms to droughts lasting many months. Water management in Florida has been primarily for flood protection. More recently, the need for multi-purpose water management to increase usage benefits while decreasing potential damage from quantity extremes, has been recognized. Legislation, the Florida Water Resources Act of 1972 being foremost, has been enacted to create a governmental framework in which water problems can be addressed.