By 2040, Florida’s public water needs are expected to increase by 22%, and analysts conclude that there is not enough groundwater to meet these needs, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
Florida’s freshwater resources come from underground aquifers, which are large bodies of porous rock and sand that hold water.
The Bonita Springs Utilities (BSU) provide water and wastewater to the City of Bonita Springs, parts of Estero and the municipalities of Lee County. BSU sources water from two aquifers.
The Lower Tamiami aquifer (80 to 115 feet deep) is freshwater and is treated with lime softeners. The Upper Florida aquifer (800 to 1000 feet deep) is brackish water that is treated by reverse osmosis.
Florida is one of the fastest-growing states in the country, with a population of over 23 million. Its growing size and continuing development pose a threat to environmental resources and ecosystems, according to Donald Duke, professor of water resources at Florida Gulf Coast University.
“The land has a carrying capacity for humans, and when we put as many people in one place as we are here in South Florida, we’re stretching that,” said Duke. “We have to bring resources from a distance.”
Duke said the region is already running out of fresh water.
“We do not have as much water supply as we would like for our various uses,” said Duke. Gary Price, former city manager of Bonita Springs, and a resident of the city for 25 years, understands that development affects the water supply. He is concerned about how it will impact Bonita Springs and beyond.
“Anytime you put a house, or a road or something on a piece of land, you reduce the amount of water that can sink into the ground,” said Price. “And then it’s wasted, instead of getting back into the ground and being used by some company, like BSU.”
Price has lived in Florida for 72 years, and he said he’s seen it change drastically. “What we have here now, is nothing like it was when I was a kid,” said Price.
Price grew up in St. Petersburg, throughout the 1950s and 1960s. He said that Florida was a paradise during that time.
“I lived on the edge of town in St. Petersburg. And now there is no edge of town...it just feeds into Pinellas Park, which feeds into Dunedin...there is no greenspace... no woods,” said Price.
Price said he is wary of Florida’s future.
“I think we’re very close to destroying the golden goose, if we haven’t already,” said Price. Duke said that more needs to be done to protect Florida’s environment.
“If we want to put that many people here and still enjoy our quality of life, we need to spend some money, some effort and time to protect it,” said Duke.
Florida has a permit system, which was adopted in the 1970s, that regulates how much water you can withdraw from the aquifers. Water suppliers, like BSU, must have a permit to pump water and show they are using the water effectively.
Duke said that while this is good in theory, it’s very simple for companies to abuse it.
“It is not always easy to enforce the permits, and it is easy to violate permits because you cannot watch everyone,” said Duke.
Duke said Florida’s state policies need to be changed to reflect current issues.
“We have an attitude that anybody that wants water (it) is the job of the state to find it for them and provide it for them,” said Duke. “The premise that we must have more water is what they should be challenging. They should look at ways to conserve, and that's the way we avoid the problem we are already in.”
Duke said there is not just one easy solution.
“There are factors besides science, and there are many stakeholders that have conflicting needs,” said Duke. “It’s a really complicated problem.”
The freshwater aquifers could run dry.
“The biggest threat is the over-pumping of these aquifers, and saltwater intrusion,” said Andy Koebel, executive director of BSU.
Koebel said that to avoid saltwater intrusion, BSU tries to connect with larger suppliers who try to pump close to the coast.
“If you start pumping this freshwater from near the coast, it’ll draw that freshwater up and pull that salt water in with it,” said Koebel. “It kind of degrades that quality.”
If saltwater intrusion occurs, the aquifers become contaminated. Koebel said if this occurs, BSU would have to completely change the way it treats the water.
CREW Land and Water Trust (CREW) is a nonprofit land trust dedicated to protecting and stewarding land in and around the Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed. The land spans 110 miles, which includes parts of Collier and Lee County. The land is essential to groundwater and aquifer recharge, stormwater control and water quality. It also offers education programs for all ages and 40 miles of public hiking trails.
CREW manages the land to ensure its ecosystems are fully functional, so they can contribute essential resources. This includes the shredding of the native Carolina willow, which can become invasive under certain environmental conditions.
“We suspect it probably has a lot to do with too much water getting into the marsh at certain times of the year, and too little at other times of the year,” said Robert Lucius, executive director of CREW.
Willows are found in marshes. Marshes are essential to water quality control, because the soil and vegetation act as filters for any water that passes through it.
Around April, when Florida enters its drier season, the CREW volunteers go out into the marsh and manually shred the willow. When the trees begin to grow back is during the start of rainy season. The willows can’t survive standing water when they are just sprouting, but if they get above about a foot of water, they can survive the rainy season. So, CREW shreds them with the hope they won’t sprout.
“Once you let the willows take hold, they will crowd out other plants, and eventually other animals and then they fundamentally change the marsh,” said Lucius. “And then it's no longer a marsh, doing what we need marshes to do.”
Lucius said they are waiting to see if this season's shredding was successful.
“We’ll have to wait another eight months to see how things pan out,” said Lucius. “Hopefully it was sufficient to kill off the sprouts.”
Lucius said the community lacks an understanding of the risks clean water resources face, and while CREW is making positive impacts, it will take more effort.
Koebel said he is asking people to be mindful and conserve water usage when they can. One of the biggest ways is lawn irrigation.
“Everybody wants to have lush green lawns, and that takes up a lot of the resources,” said Koebel. “The water that we pump out, 30-40% is used for irrigation.”
Like Koebel, Duke agrees.
“Communities around here plant sod and then irrigate the daylights out of it to keep it alive,” said Duke. “If we didn’t have that attitude, it would save enormous amounts of water.”
Duke said that if residents choose landscaping that has low water needs, it can make a significant difference in residential water use.
Lucius said that while individuals can work to conserve in their daily lives, it will take a bigger effort to save the environment and its resources.
The local government makes decisions about land acquisition and conservation efforts, so Lucius encourages citizens to speak with them.
“Council members respond to pressure from the public,” said Lucius. “It doesn't take many people to change the mindset of a commissioner, or council member.”
Lucius said, in addition to speaking out, education is the most powerful.
“We can ask people to conserve water and watch the fertilizers they use. They are all important things, but if we really want to move the needle, we must work hard to make sure our neighbors are informed,” said Lucius.
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