Despite fall deluge, south Florida faces water crisis

Lots of rainfall doesn't necessarily mean lots of water for south Florida

January 1, 2001
Web posted at: 1:51 PM EST (1851 GMT)

From John Zarrella
CNN Miami Bureau Chief

MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- In early October, the rain in southern Florida just wouldn't stop. A tropical weather system turned much the area into an urban lake. Some spots got more than 15 inches of rainfall.

Three months later, the entire region -- from Palm Beach all the way south to the Florida Keys -- is under mandatory water restrictions.

The reason for the seemingly absurd water shortage is that Lake Okeechobee, south Florida's natural water storage tank, is near record low levels. And Okeechobee is the back-up water source for all of south Florida.

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Environmental issues

The primary source of water in south Florida is a vast underground system of aquifers. If there's no rain during traditionally dry winter months, the aquifers have to be replenished with water from the lake. And that water is already in short supply.

"We had a lot of rain but the rain hasn't fallen in the right places. It's rained mainly along the coastal fringe but it hasn't rained over Lake Okeechobee," said Dean Powell of the South Florida Water Management District.

In hopes they can avoid the need for lake water, the South Florida Water Management District imposed restrictions on water use for all of south Florida.

Residents battled with heavy rainfall in early October

"It's got to rain. Plain and simply. We've got to have rainfall to get out of this situation," said Charles Wilson of the U.S. Sugar Corp.

The situation is amplified because there is nowhere to store excess rain that falls on urban areas south of the lake.

Despite the water shortage in south Florida, water managers sometimes find it necessary to discharge water into the Atlantic Ocean. Millions of gallons from a big rain in December are flowing through a floodgate in Miami towards the ocean. Once again, it rained in the wrong place.

Some scientists say the shortage wouldn't be happening if the Everglades had been taken care of. Half of this natural watershed has been lost forever to development and agriculture. Ironically, those are the very segments of society that now desperately need what the environment can no longer supply.

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Lake Okeechobee and the Okeechobee Waterway
South Florida Water Management District
U.S. Sugar Corporation

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