[sunrico90]

This might provide inside to the thread: http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/public...s_aquifers.pdf

[crystalblue]

S. Florida's water shortage won't be fixed by Noel -- South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

more pain on the way...

[deckardc]

Originally Posted by crystalblue

Since some of our aquifers are getting dangerously low, and Okeechobee is getting kinda high, can we drain some of the lake into the aquifers?

A quote from USA Today about 2 weeks ago:
"Meanwhile, drought-related woes are reaching all corners of the Southeast. Even in Florida, where a soggy September helped, months-old limits on watering lawns and washing cars remain. Lake Okeechobee, the backup water supply for metropolitan South Florida, is still 5 feet below normal."

Okeechobee is low and is already the backup water supply for south FL, particularly Miami. Pumping surface water into the aquifer could be disastrous. The aquifer is a delicate resource and the pollution and chemicals from the surface eat away at the limestone faster than nature ever could. Adding more to the aquifer system could destroy it and then the sinkhole risk would be even greater not to mention potentially destroying our main water supply.

The best thing Florida can do is build more desalination plants like the one they put up near Tampa. We have an impressive supply of seawater and, if you believe in global warming, our supply will only grow.

[tallrick]

In south Florida the aquifers are at normal levels. The problem is that the central part of the state is deficient in water. Water continuously flows from Florida to the ocean year round. If the water stops flowing, salt water flows back in. Once contaminated with salt water, it can take decades for the groundwater to flush out. Florida's aquifer also takes on some runoff from the states to the north, which have been suffering from drought this year. For those of you wo do not want tropical storms/hurricanes this is what your "paradise" is like without them. Florida has been altered by humans, and is proof that development is not sustainable. The solution is to fill in the canals, re-establish the wetlands and let nature do its job. There is NO WAY that energy can be used for desalination. We have rising oil prices, and flattening supplies. Anyone who believes that desalination is sustainable is a fool. We have more water than we deserve. We have too many people here though. Until we get populations under control, we will be competing more and more for less and less water. I for one am looking for a place with adequate fresh water. Maybe Ohio?