Chapter 1 The Human Framework - South Florida … water. Now, the value and the finite nature of Florida’s water resources are clear. Water managers today are concerned with water

1

Chapter 1

In Florida for at least 14,000 years,human settlement has been shaped bywater. Although its official nickname is“The Sunshine State,” Florida could verywell be called “The Water State.” Florida issurrounded on three sides by water. Itslandmass is underlain by water-filledlimestone: highly porous rock formed overmillennia from shells and bones of seaanimals. The Florida Keys, a gentle arc ofislands extending 93 kilometers (150 miles)south of the peninsula to Key West, arecoral rock covered in most places with athin layer of sand. Florida’s abundance ofsinkholes, springs, rivers and lakes is partlythe result of the rising and falling of sealevel. The sea is also largely responsible forthe state’s many bays, inlets and islands.On average, more rain falls in Florida (135centimeters or 53 inches) per year than inany other state in the nation besidesLouisiana, which receives an average of140 centimeters (55 inches) (Henry et al.1994). In Florida, rain does not always fallwhen and where it is needed, andsometimes too much rain falls too quickly.

Water management in Florida todayhas evolved from lessons learned throughexperience, as well as from changingphilosophies about natural resources andthe environment. Early in the state’shistory, Floridians were most concernedabout drainage, flood control andnavigation. Natural resources were to beused, controlled and modified. Wetlandswere drained for farms, groves and houses.Canals were cut to facilitate drainage andto improve navigation. Floodwaters wereheld back with engineering works. Wasteswere discharged without treatment intorivers, lakes and coastal waters. Floridawas thought to have too much

The Human Framework

We see things not as they are, but as we are.

— Henry Major Tomlinson, Out of Soundings, 1931

KEY IDEASKEY IDEASKEY IDEASKEY IDEASKEY IDEAS

• Water has played a critical role in thesettlement of Florida since the firsthumans arrived around 14,000 yearsago.

• Water resources exist within legal,social, economic and political contexts.

• Early in Florida’s development as a state,the main themes of water managementwere drainage, flood control andnavigation.

• Today, Floridians are actively seekingways to preserve, protect and restorewater resources.

• Modern water management in Florida isgoverned by the Water Resources Act of1972, one of the most innovative laws ofits kind in the nation.

VOCABULARYVOCABULARYVOCABULARYVOCABULARYVOCABULARY

Drainage

Ecosystem restoration

Flood control

Hammocks

Land acquisition

Limestone

Minimum flows and levels

Navigation

Prior appropriation

Reasonable and beneficial use

Riparian

Savanna

Water allocation

Water supply

2

water. Now, the value and the finite natureof Florida’s water resources are clear. Watermanagers today are concerned with waterquality protection, water supply planningand water resources development, and

preservation and protection of the naturalenvironment. Conserving, protecting andrestoring natural systems, while ensuringan adequate supply of water, remains oneof Florida’s greatest challenges.

The First FloridiansThe First FloridiansThe First FloridiansThe First FloridiansThe First Floridians

About 14,000 years ago, people firstentered the Florida peninsula. Known as“Paleoindians,” these original Floridianssurvived by hunting mastodons, camels,mammoths, bison and horses. At the time,much of the world’s water was frozen inglaciers, sea level was much lower than it istoday, and Florida was a dry, large, grassyprairie. Many present-day rivers, springsand lakes had yet to be formed; evengroundwater levels were far lower thanthey are today. Sources of fresh water werelimited, and finding them was critical tothe survival of the Paleoindians and theanimals they hunted for food. ThePaleoindians lived and hunted near springsand lakes. Many of these sites are nowunder water. Archeologists have foundbone and stone weapons and tools inmany springs and rivers, and even offshorein the Gulf of Mexico.

About 9000 B.C., glaciers melted, sealevel rose and Florida’s climate becamewetter. As forests replaced grasslands, biggame animals disappeared. A largernumber of rivers and lakes afforded manymore suitable places for people to live. By3000 B.C., when Florida’s climate becamesimilar to today’s climate, people occupiedalmost every part of the present state.Numerous settlements developed incoastal regions in southwest, northwestand northeast Florida, as well as along theSt. Johns River (Milanich 1995). Peopletook full advantage of the plentiful supplyof fish and shellfish. Along the coasts andthe banks of rivers and bays, huge moundsof shells from millions of prehistoric mealsbegan to accumulate.

When Spanish explorers arrived inFlorida in the 1500s, an estimated

350,000 Native Americans were livingthroughout the present-day state

(Milanich 1995). The Apalachee andTimucuan in the north were farmers andgrew corn, beans and squash. Their largevillages were often located near the region’smany lakes and rivers. Although they grewfood, the Apalachee and Timucuan stillobtained part of their diet from hunting,fishing and gathering of wild plants. TheNative Americans living in the southernpart of the peninsula continued to liveexclusively off the natural bounty of theland and the sea.

The Belle Glade people lived on thevast savanna around Lake Okeechobee.They built villages on mounds and earthenembankments, and connected them bycanoe highways.

Along the southwest coast, aremarkable people called the Calusa livedby fishing, gathering shellfish, collectingplants and hunting. The Seminole Indianslater immortalized the Calusa by namingthe major river in the region theCaloosahatchee, “river of the Calusa.” Asingle chief ruled the Calusa’s vast domain.They lived in large villages and developedelaborate political, social and tradenetworks, as well as highly sophisticatedart. They traveled into the gulf in canoeslashed together to form catamarans. Thislevel of cultural development is usuallyonly obtained with agriculture. Only bygrowing crops do people usually haveenough food to support villages and toallow some individuals to specialize inpursuits other than obtaining food.However, the Calusa’s natural environmentwas so rich that they were able to grow andthrive without crops.

By the early 1700s, virtually all themembers of Florida’s original NativeAmerican groups were gone, many havingsuccumbed to European diseases for

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Florida shoreline

0 100 Miles

0 100 Kilometers

which they had no resistance. Remnants ofother southeastern Indian groups, laterknown as the Seminoles, began to moveinto the now abandoned fertile farmlands

around the lakes and rivers in northernFlorida. The only permanent settlementsof any consequence were St. Augustine,Pensacola and Key West.

Paleoindian Period12,000 Years Ago

Adapted from Milanich 1995

4

THE SEMINOLESTHE SEMINOLESTHE SEMINOLESTHE SEMINOLESTHE SEMINOLESADAPTATION TO A WATERY WILDERNESSADAPTATION TO A WATERY WILDERNESSADAPTATION TO A WATERY WILDERNESSADAPTATION TO A WATERY WILDERNESSADAPTATION TO A WATERY WILDERNESS

Seminole Indian Village, Royal Palm Hammock, 1920s Source: Florida State Archives

The Seminole Indians — with their dugoutcanoes, chickees, and loose, colorful patchworkclothing — have long been associated withsouth Florida. But the Seminoles did notoriginate in south Florida or any place else inthe state. Their ancestors were members ofpopulous tribes and chiefdoms from other partsof the southeastern United States. These groups— the Oconee, Yuchi, Alabama, Yamasee,Hitchiti, Koasati and dozens of others — werecalled “Creeks” by English settlers.

The Creeks were farmers and hunters. Cornwas their principal crop, and each year theCreeks celebrated its ripening with the GreenCorn Dance. Some Creeks lived in towns of5,000 to 15,000 people. These towns were builtaround a plaza, which included a squareground (a square flat cleared area). In thecenter of the square ground was theceremonial fire with four logs pointing in

cardinal directions. At one end was a circularcouncil house where men discussed politicalaffairs. Family compounds consisted of acooking house, a winter house and a storagehouse. Other Creeks lived outside of townsalong the banks of rivers and streams infamily camps (Weisman 1999).

Creeks in towns and in the countrysidewere linked together by clans. All Creeksbelonged to clans, family groups named afteranimals or natural events. Some Creek clanswere the Bear, Deer, Wildcat, Tiger (Panther),Wolf, Alligator, Wind and Turkey. Both maleand female children belonged to the clan oftheir mother and remained a part of this clanfor their entire lives. Clans lived together incamps or in the same part of town. When youvisited a new town or a new part of Creekcountry, other members of your clanwelcomed you.

5

By the 18th century, Creek clothing was ablend of European and traditional Indianstyles. The men wore cloth turbans, belts,beads, and leggings and jackets of deerskin.Women wore long dresses of manufacturedcloth.

The Creeks traveled long distances on theSoutheast’s numerous rivers and streams indugout canoes. They were skilled hunters,and the men spent much of their time huntingdeer and other animals. Creeks traded thepelts of the animals they hunted for Europeantraders’ guns and other manufactured items.

By the early 1700s, small bands of Creeksbegan migrating into northern Florida, at firstto hunt and later to farm lands once occupiedby the Timucuan and Apalachee Indians.These groups were now gone, their membershaving died in conflicts with Europeans orfrom European diseases for which they hadno resistance.

The name “Seminole” was first recorded infield notes accompanying a 1765 map ofFlorida. Most scholars believe it was derivedfrom the Spanish “cimarrone,” meaning “wild”or “runaway.” By 1800, many of the Seminoleswere prospering, raising cattle and growingcrops. Some lived in two-story houses andowned slaves. These newcomers to Floridahad built towns from the Apalachicola River tothe St. Johns River and from south Georgia tothe Caloosahatchee River.

As the American colonists settled moreand more of the South, more Indians fled toFlorida. Soon, however, Florida lands alsobecame desirable to the colonists. The Treatyof Payne’s Landing, signed in 1832, requiredthe Indians to give up their Florida lands andmove to Indian Territory in the West. TheSeminoles refused and a 7-year war ensued,fought between the Seminoles and the UnitedStates in the swamps and hammocks ofcentral Florida. At the end of the war, severalhundred Seminoles were forcibly shipped toIndian Territory, while others escaped into thewatery wilderness of Big Cypress Swamp andthe Everglades.

It was on the hammocks, small tree

islands in the midst of marsh andswampland, that the Seminoles made theirhome. Never a maritime or aquatic culture,like the Calusa Indians who had lived beforethem in southern Florida, the Seminolesadapted their traditional ways of making aliving — farming, raising livestock andhunting — to their new wetter and warmerhome.

They settled in clan camps rather than intowns. Although no longer united aroundtowns, clan camps came together each yearfor the traditional Green Corn Dance. Theycleared trees from the center of thehammocks and grew corn, squash, melonsand peas on the rich soil. They ran their cattleon lands that were dry enough. Their relianceon wild plants and animals increased. Theyate the new shoots of cabbage palm andprepared flour (known as coontie) from theroot of the tropical tuber zamia. Theycontinued to hunt deer and hunted the then-abundant manatee, which they called “giantbeaver.”

They abandoned their traditional four-walled board cabin for chickees, distinctiveopen-air structures built of cypress poles withpalmetto-thatched roofs. The localenvironment provided all the materials theyneeded for construction. They traveledbetween settlements in dugout canoes, andthey exchanged their deerskin garments forfewer, more loosely fitting cotton clothes.

After the Civil War, the Seminoles, like theirCreek ancestors, began to hunt commercially.They provided traders with skins of otters,deer, raccoons and alligators, as well as withfeathers from the thousands of tropical birdsfound in the Everglades (Kersey 1975). Womenin cities in America and Europe fueled themarket for plumes with their insatiable desirefor exotic feathers used to decorate their hats.

By early in the twentieth century, theSeminoles’ world changed again. Plumehunting was outlawed in an effort to save theremaining birds. Illegal trade continued andended only when women’s fashions changed(Weisman 1999). The physical environment

6

was also rapidly changing. Roads were beingbuilt, land was being drained for agriculture,and new communities were springing upovernight. In order to survive, the Seminoleshad to adapt. This time they adapted byresponding to the growing tourist market(West 1998). They entertained tourists withalligator wrestling and later with airboat rides.Women used hand-cranked sewingmachines to more quickly sew the colorfulcotton patchwork for which the Seminoles arefamous. Seminole dolls and patchworkclothing became popular tourist items.

By the 1960s the Seminoles had separatedinto two political groups: the Seminole Tribe ofFlorida and the Miccosukee Tribe. A group ofabout 100 individuals continued to live in theEverglades and chose not to enroll in eithertribe.

Today, tourism is still an importantaspect of the Seminole culture andeconomy. Both the Seminole Tribe and theMiccosukee Tribe operate high-stakes bingopalaces. On its Big Cypress reservation, theSeminole Tribe attracts tourists with itsAh-Tha-Thi-Ki (“to learn”) Museum, BigCypress Hunting Adventures, and BillieSwamp Safari. The Seminoles also run multi-million dollar cattle and citrus operationsand maintain a fleet of aircraft. But they stillpass their legends on from generation togeneration and they still belong to clans(Bear, Panther, Wind, Otter, Snake, Bird, Deerand Big Town). They continue to gather eachspring in a secret location far from the hustleand bustle of the modern world to reaffirmtheir identity and survival through the GreenCorn Dance.

The following year, Disston began to digcanals in the upper Kissimmee River basinand the Caloosahatchee-LakeOkeechobee region. These waterwayswere to drain the land in the interior ofthe state and to provide corridors totransport crops and commercial products.

As the 1800s drew to a close, Floridaremained largely dependent on watertransport. Phosphate had been discoveredin the Peace River valley, and boatsequipped with steam dredges were usedto mine the sand bars. Steamboats carriedpassengers and freight to coastal portsand to hundreds of riverside docks.Florida’s leading product, lumber, wastransported by water to markets in Europeand the northeastern United States.Construction of railroads in the late 1800sopened virgin forests to the growinglumber and naval stores (turpentine androsin) industries. Before railroads, watertransportation limited lumbering to thebanks along major rivers and streams.During times when rivers were low, logs

When Florida became a state in 1845,most of its 70,000 inhabitants lived in thenorth. The state had few assets other thanland, much of which was unsuitable fordevelopment without drainage and floodcontrol. Water remained the main avenueof travel, and Floridians clamored forcanals and river improvements. As earlyas 1824, the legislative council of theterritory had proposed a ship canalacross north Florida to spare ships thelong and dangerous journey around thepeninsula.At statehood, Congress granted the state500,000 acres (202,400 hectares) offederal land outright for “internalimprovements.” Five years later, the statereceived an additional 20 million acres (8million hectares) through an act thattransferred all “land unfit for cultivationdue to its swampy and overflowedcondition.” In 1881, the state sold 4

million acres (1.6 million hectares) at25 cents per acre to Philadelphia

businessman Hamilton Disston.

Drainage, Flood Control and NavigationDrainage, Flood Control and NavigationDrainage, Flood Control and NavigationDrainage, Flood Control and NavigationDrainage, Flood Control and Navigation

7

could not be transported to markets andwater-powered saw mills had to be shutdown.

Meanwhile, Florida’s mineral springs,spas, rest homes and warm climate beganto attract northern visitors seeking relieffrom rheumatism and from asthma andother lung ailments. Steamboat tours alongthe major rivers of north and central Floridabecame very popular, especially withhunters. In fact, by the late 1800s, gameanimals along the middle St. Johns Riverhad become scarce.

As the twentieth century dawned, southFlorida was still largely in its natural state.

Steamboat routes

Steamship routesE

scambia

Yellow

St.

Choctawhat

chee

Apa

lach

icola

Ochlockone

e

Suwan

nee

Suwannee

Santa Fe

Johns

St. Johns

Ock

l aw

aha

Withlacoochee

Florida Bay

Tampa Bay

LakeOkeechobee

Hillsborough

Manatee

Caloosahatchee

Peac

e

Lake George

Charlotte Harbor

IndianR

iver

Kissimm

ee

In 1904, Napoleon Bonaparte Broward waselected governor by promising to drain theEverglades. Established in 1913, theEverglades District became the first ofseveral districts that carried out drainageprojects in south Florida.

Drainage projects around LakeOkeechobee encouraged settlement anddevelopment of agriculture, but the regionwas still vulnerable to the catastrophiceffects of extremely strong hurricanes thatswept across south Florida in the 1920s.During the 1926 hurricane, the dike alongthe southern perimeter of the lake broke,killing more than 400 people in the Moore

Navigation1880–1900

Source: Fernald and Purdum 1996

8

Major canal existing at given date

New canal since last date

Major levee

1920

1930 1950

1960 1970

Growth ofWater Control System

South Florida


9

Haven area. During the 1928 hurricane,wind-blown water overflowed the lake,drowning more than 2,000 people. As aconsequence, the Okeechobee FloodControl District was established in 1929.The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began amajor program of flood control in Florida,including construction of the 53-kilometer-long (85-mile-long) Herbert Hoover Dikeflanking Lake Okeechobee.

In 1947, two more hurricanes andfloods hit south Florida. Again, the existingnetwork of canals and levees failed toprotect farms and newly populous coastalcommunities. In response, Congresspassed the Flood Control Act of 1948,calling for a huge multistage flood controlproject designed and constructed by theU.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Centraland Southern Florida Flood ControlDistrict was created by the FloridaLegislature in 1949 to operate andmaintain the massive project.

Streams and lakes were also modifiedin other parts of Florida. In the late 1800sand early 1900s, land was drained in theOcklawaha and Peace river basins forfarms, and canals were dug to createnavigation routes for shipping vegetables,citrus, timber and other products. Coastalnavigation waterways were also underconstruction, and the IntracoastalWaterway from Jacksonville to Miami wascompleted in 1912. The waterway provideda safer means of travel along the oftenhazardous east coast, and it linked riverchannels and the Okeechobee Waterway toFlorida’s deep-water coastal ports.

Construction of major water controlworks continued into the 1960s. In 1961,Congress authorized the Four River Basins,Florida Project for flood control in theTampa Bay area. Construction of theKissimmee Canal began in 1962. Work onthe Cross Florida Barge Canal, first begunin 1935, resumed in the 1960s with theinstallation of major locks and dams on theWithlacoochee and Ocklawaha rivers.Opposition to this canal grew steadilyduring the late 1960s until President Nixonhalted construction in 1971. Controversy

about the Rodman Dam and Reservoirportion of the Cross Florida Barge Canalproject persists to this day. Variousenvironmental groups have called forremoval of the dam and the restoration ofthe Ocklawaha River. Portions of theKissimmee River, channelized barely 30years ago, are now being restored.

19721972197219721972YEAR OF THE ENVIRONMENTYEAR OF THE ENVIRONMENTYEAR OF THE ENVIRONMENTYEAR OF THE ENVIRONMENTYEAR OF THE ENVIRONMENT

• Florida Water Resources Act createsregional water management districts andestablishes a permit system for allocatingwater use.

• Land Conservation Act authorizes the saleof state bonds to purchaseenvironmentally endangered lands.

• Environmental Land and WaterManagement Act creates Development ofRegional Impact and Area of Critical StateConcern programs.

• The Comprehensive Planning Act requiresdevelopment of a state comprehensiveplan.

• First public hearing on the restoration ofthe Kissimmee River.

• Federal Clean Water Act sets “swimmableand fishable” as goal for all U.S. waters.

• Florida citizens approve a constitutionalamendment authorizing $240 million instate bonds for the Department of NaturalResources to purchase environmentallyendangered lands.

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Modern Water ManagementModern Water ManagementModern Water ManagementModern Water ManagementModern Water Management

Northwest FloridaWMD Suwannee

River WMD

St. Johns River WMD

SouthwestFlorida WMD

South Florida WMD

Arrows indicate the general direction of water flow

Northwest Florida Water Management District81 Water Management DriveHavana, FL 32333-4712 1-850-539-5999

Suwannee River Water Management District9225 County Road 49Live Oak, FL 32060 1-800-226-1066

St. Johns River Water Management District4049 Reid StreetPalatka, FL 32177 1-800-451-7106

Southwest Florida Water Management District2379 Broad StreetBrooksville, FL 34604-6899 1-800-423-1476

South Florida Water Management District3301 Gun Club RoadWest Palm Beach, FL 33406-4680 1-800-432-2045

Main office

19719719719719700000SSSSS

Attitudes toward water and theenvironment began to change as theconsequences of uncontrolled growth anddamage to the natural environment becamemore and more evident. During 1970–71,Florida experienced its worst drought todate, spurring state leaders to action. Fourmajor pieces of legislation were enacted bythe 1972 Legislature: the EnvironmentalLand and Water Management Act, theComprehensive Planning Act, the LandConservation Act, and the Water ResourcesAct. These laws are based on the philosophythat land use, growth policy and watermanagement cannot be separated, a theme

that continues to this day.Florida’s institution of water

management is unique — regionalagencies, established by the Legislature andrecognized in the state constitution, basedon hydrologic boundaries and funded by atax usually reserved for local government.

The 1972 Water Resources Actestablished five water managementdistricts with broad authority andresponsibilities. Responsibilitiesencompass the four broad categories ofwater supply (including conservation andallocation), water quality, flood protectionand natural systems management.

Water Management Districts

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Centimeters

Inches

Deficiency or Surplus

-100 0 100 200

0 40 80-40

Study this map. What differences do younotice between the eastern and western UnitedStates?

Significantly less water is available in thewestern United States than in the eastern UnitedStates. This fact has resulted in two very differentsystems of law governing the use of water.

Western Water LawIn the West, water is often scarce. Cities and

farms may be long distances from sources ofwater. Western water law, also called the priorappropriation doctrine, is based upon thepremise that water is a property right derivedfrom a historic claim to water — ”first in time,first in right.” The first person or entity, such asan agricultural business, a mining company ora city, to withdraw the water from a stream oran aquifer had rights to continue to do so. Theserights would be upheld in court. This system

WATER LAWWATER LAWWATER LAWWATER LAWWATER LAW

originated during the Gold Rush. Miningrequired diversion of water, and minerswanted certainty that they would haveenough water to continue their operations.Later the doctrine of prior appropriation wasmodified to include the requirement that thewater must be used for beneficial purposes.

Water rights in the West are separatefrom land rights. A water right is a veryvaluable commodity that can be bought andsold and passed from one generation to thenext.

Advantages: Certainty. Users know they willcontinue to have water indefinitely.

Disadvantages: May lead to waste bydiscouraging conservation since reduction inwater use may lead to reduction in waterrights. Relatively uneconomic or sociallyunimportant water uses may be continued,


Water Deficiency and Surplus

12

although some people think that free marketforces will transfer water rights to the mosteconomical uses. Water needs of naturalsystems may not be met because all of thewater in a stream may have been appropriatedfor human uses.

Eastern Water LawWater is considerably more abundant in the

eastern United States than it is in the westernUnited States. Eastern water law, also called theriparian system, is based on the premise thatthe riparian, the landowner along the shore,had the right to use the water for boating,fishing, swimming or viewing. Riparians alsohave a right to take as much water as theywant to use on their land as long as they do notinterfere with the reasonable use of water byother riparians. Landowners have a similarright to withdraw ground water for use onoverlying land.

Advantages: Generally more protective of thewater resources than Western law.

Disadvantages: Restricted commercial andother uses of water on nonriparian lands.Ongoing riparians constantly had to adjust tonew riparians. Courts had to resolve disputeson a case-by-case basis.

Florida Water LawFlorida water law, found in Chapter 373 of

the Florida Statutes (available on the Web atwww.leg.state.fl.us), is considered by many tocombine the best aspects of Western (priorappropriation) and Eastern (riparian) law. InFlorida, water is a resource of the state. It is notowned by anyone.

Consumptive use permits: Water is allocated bya permit system administered by the five watermanagement districts. The allocation system isdesigned to (1) prevent waste, (2) providecertainty to existing users, (3) provide equalrights irrespective of economic power, (4)protect natural resources and (5) provide for

future users by requiring water managers toaddress comprehensive planning andresource development. Permits to use waterare issued by the water management districtsand may be issued for up to 50 years. Thequantity of water available for use under apermit may be reduced during droughts.

To obtain a permit, the applicant mustestablish three things: the use is reasonableand beneficial, the use will not interfere withany presently existing legal use of the water, andthe use is consistent with the public interest. Ifthere is not enough water for all proposed uses,the water management districts are to makedecisions based on which use best serves thepublic interest. If all the competing applicantsequally serve the public interest, preference isgiven to the existing permit holder.

Unlike the Western system of priorappropriation, Florida law discourages thelong-distance transfer of water acrosshydrologic boundaries. A transfer must notdiminish the availability of water for presentand future needs of the sending area, and thereceiving area must have exhausted allreasonable local sources and options. Inaddition, the transfer of water across countyboundaries is discouraged.

Minimum flows and levels: Florida water lawrequires the water management districts toestablish minimum flows for all rivers, streamsand canals. This means the districts mustidentify an amount of water flow below whichfurther withdrawals would cause significantharm to the water resource or to the ecology ofthe area. The law also requires the watermanagement districts to establish minimumlevels for ground water and surface waters(rivers, streams, canals, lakes and wetlands)below which further withdrawals would causeharm to the water resource. Surface watersless than 25 acres (10 hectares) generally areexempt from this requirement.

Determining minimum flows and levelsrequires complex scientific and technicalanalyses. The water management districts are

13

now making progress in establishing minimumflows and levels, which will play a much greaterrole in water resources planning and permittingin the future.

Advantages: Consumptive use permits helpensure that the use of water in Florida isreasonable and beneficial. Some degree ofcertainty is given by permits that give the rightto withdraw a certain amount of water for a

given time period. The minimum flow provisionand the restrictions on the long-distancetransport of water help protect the waterresources and the environment.

Disadvantages: Terms such as “public interest,”“reasonable and beneficial” and “significantharm” are open to interpretation and mayresult in conflicts that have to be resolvedthrough the courts.

The districts are drawn on watershedboundaries. These are natural drainagebasins, not political boundaries. Watermanagement districts are overseen at thestate level by the Department ofEnvironmental Protection. They aregoverned by a board appointed by theGovernor and approved by the Senate.They are funded to do the job of watermanagement by a tax granted to them bythe people of Florida in 1976. However, thebudgets of the districts are closelymonitored by the Governor’s Office and bythe Legislature.

19819819819819800000SSSSS

In the late 1970s and early 1980s,protection of Florida’s ground water, theprimary source of drinking water in thestate, became a major issue. The 1983 TaskForce on Water Issues reported that thethreat of contamination of ground waterand related surface waters from hazardouswastes, sewage, industrial wastes andpesticides had become a major problem.The Legislature passed the Water QualityAssurance Act, granting the Department ofEnvironmental Regulation more authorityto protect ground water and to clean upcontaminated resources.

In 1985, the Florida Legislature passedthe Surface Water Improvement andManagement Act (SWIM), the firststatewide program for protecting orrestoring waters of regional or statewidesignificance. The initial legislation namedthe first six water bodies to be restored and

protected under SWIM: Lake Apopka,Tampa Bay, Lake Okeechobee, BiscayneBay, the Indian River Lagoon and lower St.Johns River.

19919919919919900000SSSSS

Throughout the 1990s, Floridacontinued to protect environmentallysensitive lands, critical water resources andvital habitats through land acquisitionefforts. With programs such asPreservation 2000 and Save Our Rivers,Florida has carried out the largest landacquisition effort in the nation. In the lastquarter of the twentieth century, Floridapurchased 2.1 million acres (850,000hectares) of conservation and resource-based recreation land. In combination withland protected by local and federalprograms or under private conservationmanagement, these purchases protect andpreserve 7.6 million acres (3.1 millionhectares) of land (about 22 percent of theland in Florida).

In the 1990s, major ecosystemrestoration projects and land acquisitionprograms were undertaken throughout thestate. The Everglades Forever Act, passed bythe Legislature in 1994, outlines acomprehensive program for restoring waterquality and improving the amount, timingand distribution of water flows for the entiresouth Florida ecosystem (Kissimmee River-Lake Okeechobee-Everglades-Florida Bay).In the St. Johns River Water ManagementDistrict, restoration projects began inthe Lower St. Johns River Basin,

14

Lake Apopka, the Indian River Lagoon, andthe upper Ocklawaha River Basin. In theNorthwest Florida Water ManagementDistrict, restoration began in portions ofTates Hell Swamp, formerly ditched anddrained for pine plantations. In theSuwannee River Water ManagementDistrict, large parcels within the 100-yearfloodplain of the Suwannee River are beingacquired, protected, and restored wherenecessary. In the Southwest Florida WaterManagement District, over 30 ecosystemrestoration projects are under variousstages of development for the Tampa Bay

The Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint RiverBasin (ACF) is located within three states —Georgia, Alabama and Florida. Theheadwaters are in Georgia above Lake Laniernear Atlanta. The basin terminates in northwestFlorida where the Apalachicola River flows intoApalachicola Bay on the Gulf of Mexico. In1990, Florida joined with Alabama in a federallawsuit over the Army Corps of Engineers’ andGeorgia’s plan to reallocate water in LakeLanier for the Atlanta urban area’s watersupply. In 1997, after years of negotiations, thethree states entered into the ACF River BasinCompact, ratified by the three state legislaturesand Congress. The Compact directed the threestates to develop a water allocation formula to

WATER KNOWS NO POLITICAL BOUNDARIESWATER KNOWS NO POLITICAL BOUNDARIESWATER KNOWS NO POLITICAL BOUNDARIESWATER KNOWS NO POLITICAL BOUNDARIESWATER KNOWS NO POLITICAL BOUNDARIES

apportion the water in this river system.The Suwannee River Basin begins in

Georgia in the Okefenokee Swamp and endsin the Gulf of Mexico. Two of the Suwannee’smajor tributaries, the Withlacoochee (distinctfrom the southern Withlacoochee) and theAlapaha, also originate in Georgia. In the1990s, the Suwannee River WaterManagement District and the FloridaDepartment of Environmental Protection andtheir counterpart agencies in Georgia formedthe Suwannee Basin Interagency Alliance.This group is working to develop a basinwidemanagement planning and river protectionprogram that, for the first time, will addressthe entire watershed.

estuarine ecosystem.In 1999, the Florida Legislature passed

the Florida Forever Act, the successor toPreservation 2000. The act provides $300million per year for 10 years for landacquisition, water resources protection,ecosystem restoration, and urban parks andopen space. Half of the water managementdistricts’ allocation (35 percent) may be usedfor water resources development, includingrestoring aquifer recharge, capturing andstoring of excess flows of surface water,surface water reservoirs, and implementingaquifer storage and recovery.

ConclusionConclusionConclusionConclusionConclusion

The basic water managementframework established by the 1972 WaterResources Act has remained intact. TheDepartment of Environmental Protectionand the water management districts jointlyimplement a broad range of programsrelated to water supply, flood protection,water quality and natural systemsprotection.

Water supply and water allocation have emerged as paramount issues

for the next century. In some areas ofthe state, demands for water are

beginning to exceed the capacity of aquifersand surface waters to meet these demands.Competition for water is increasing. Theeffects of withdrawing more ground waterthan rainfall can replenish are evidenced bysaltwater intrusion, diminished spring flow,dried-out marshes and disappearing lakes.In some areas, new, easily developed, cleansources of water no longer exist. Alternativesources can be developed, but at highercosts than traditional sources. AlthoughFlorida is in many ways “The Water State,”its supplies are not boundless.

15

Conservation lands

Conservation Lands2001

Source: Florida Natural Areas Inventory 2001

Conservation lands are relatively undeveloped lands.They help protect our freshwater supply, are home to arich array of plants and animals, and provide recreationand refuge to residents and tourists. Many of the landsFlorida was anxious to sell for drainage and developmentearly in its history are now once again in public ownership.Included are state, federal and local governmentconservation lands, as well as privately owned parcels.

16

Florida’s Population Growth

Sour

ce: U

.S. B

urea

u of

the

Cens

us

1830

1860

1880

1900

1920

1940

1960

1980

2000

140,

000

34,7

00

269,

000 52

9,00

0

968,

000

Eac

h sq

uare

rep

rese

nts

50,0

00 in

habi

tant

s

1,89

7,00

0

4,95

2,00

0

9,74

7,00

0

15,9

82,0

00

17

Persons per Square Mile

Fewer than 5050–99100–899900–2,000Over 2,000

Population Density2000

Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census

18

12,000 BC 1500 1770 1820 1830

12,000 B.C.First Floridiansenter the Floridapeninsula.

1774The Suwannee River is“The cleanest and purestof any river. . . almost astransparent as the air webreathe.”— Naturalist William Bartram

1821Spain cedes East and WestFlorida to the United States

1500Beginning of Spanishexploration of Florida.

350,000 Native Americans livingthroughout the present-day state.

1827“In appearance it [northern Florida] isentirely unlike any part of the UnitedStates. The lakes abound in fish, trout,brim, perch and soft-shelled turtle; andin the winter with wild fowl.”— Judge Henry M. Brackenridge

Source: Florida State Archives

Timucuan Indians depositing grain in public granary

The Human FrameworkTime Line

19

1840 1850 1860

1848Secretary of theTreasury BuckinghamSmith declares theEverglades can bereclaimed by diggingcanals. Stephen R.Mallory, collector ofcustoms at Key West,warns “it will be foundwholly out of thequestion to drain allthe Everglades.”

1850U.S. Congressconveys all swampand overflowedlands to the state.

1845Florida statehood. Federalgovernment grants 500,000 acresof land to the state for “internalimprovements.”

1835Steamboatsbegin arrivingin Florida.

1851Board of Internal Improvementestablished to transfer wetlands toprivate companies for drainage. Dr. JohnGorrie of Apalachicola patents a processfor making ice; he used the process tocool the rooms of his patients.

Dr. John Gorrie


20

18701865 1875

1867Florida is “so watery and vine tied thatpathless wanderings are not easilypossible in any direction.”— John Muir

1868State’s first waterpollution lawestablishes a penaltyfor defiling orcorrupting springsand water supplies.

1866Governor Davis Walkergrants William Gleasonover 6 million acresbased on his proposal todrain swamplands eastand south of theEverglades.

1875The Ocklawaha River is “the sweetestwaterlane in the world” and SilverSprings Run is a “journey overtransparency.”— Sidney Lanier, Florida: Its Scenery, Climate, and History

1870Jacksonville becomes a major portfor lumber production and export.

John Muir ca. 1870

Lumber wharf, Jacksonville, 1870s



21

18801875 1885

1881State of Florida sells 4 million acresof land near Lake Okeechobee andin the Kissimmee River basin toHamilton Disston of Philadelphiafor 25 cents per acre.

1882Disston links Lake Okeechobeeoutlet to the Gulf coast via theCaloosahatchee River. “. . . bytheir insane shooting ateverything, the tourists weredriving all birds, alligators, andanimals from this portion of the[Ocklawaha] river.”— George Barbour, Florida for Tourists, Invalids, and Settlers

1884Mrs. W. F. Fuller plantswater hyacinths alongthe shore of her homeon the St. Johns River.

1879Santa Fe CanalCompany constructstwo canals from Waldoto Melrose via Lake Altoand Lake Santa Fe.

Water hyacinths, Lake Monroe, between 1903 and 1906

Steamboat on the Ocklawaha River, 1877



22

18901885 1895

1886Freeze and hurricane destroy north-central Florida’s citrus industry.

1894–95Great Freeze ends commercialagriculture industry in north Florida.

1889Phosphate is discovered near Dunnellon.

Early phosphate mine

Frost damage to citrus crop



23

19001895 1905

1900“[I]n our very midst, we have a tract of landone hundred and thirty miles long andseventy miles wide that is as much unknownto the white man as the heart of Africa.”— Hugh L. Willoughby, Across the Everglades

1904Napoleon Browardelected governor on apromise to drain theEverglades for gardensand farms.

1900“The existing practices of lumbermen incutting timber land so close . . . [left] noyoung trees unscathed to form newforests, and when the pine disappears, itis replaced by utterly worthless scrub.” — Pensacola Daily News, March 27

Reclaiming the great Everglades, 1912


24

19101905 1915

1906John Gifford introducesmelaleuca as the idealplant for drying theEverglades.

1907Everglades Drainage District established.

1912The Flagler Railroad to Key West iscompleted.

Intracoastal Waterway fromJacksonville to Miami is completed.

1913“Drainage of the FloridaEverglades is entirelypracticable and can beaccomplished at a cost whichthe value of the reclaimedland will justify, the costbeing very small.”— Florida Everglades Engineering Commission

Former Governor Jennings and family with press tour ofEverglades Drainage Project, 1907

Florida East Coast Railway, Key West Extension, crossing LongKey Viaduct



25

1915 19251920

1916Construction of the Tamiami Trail begins.

1920sSouth Florida real estate boom; Carl Fisher transforms wet,mangrove-fringed island to resort of Miami Beach; saltwaterintrusion in St. Petersburg’s municipal well fields.


Tamiami Trail blazers

Bathing beauties at the beach


26

1925 1930 1935

1926Hurricanekills 400 inLake Okeechobeearea.

1928Hurricane kills 2,000 south of LakeOkeechobee when earthen dike fails tocontain Lake Okeechobee: “Themonstropolous beast had left his bed.The two hundred miles an hour wind hadloosed his chains. He seized hold of hisdikes and ran forward until he met thequarters; uprooted them like grass andrushed on after his supposed-to-be-conquerors, rolling the dikes, rolling thehouses, rolling the people in the housesalong with other timbers. The sea waswalking the earth with a heavy heel.”— Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God

1929Okeechobee DrainageDistrict formed. In From Edento Sahara: Florida’s Tragedy,John Kunkel Small predictsthat, once drained, Floridawill become a desert.

1935Construction begins onthe Cross Florida BargeCanal; “Labor DayHurricane” hits the Keys,killing 400.

1931Gulf Intracoastal Waterwayextended from Pensacolato Carrabelle.

Funeral service for hurricane victims, 1928


27

1935 1940 1945

1931–45Florida experiences drought,saltwater contamination inwells along the coast, and firesin dry muck soils in the formerEverglades.

1937Work suspended onthe Cross FloridaBarge Canal.

1937U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completes85-mile-long Herbert Hoover Dike flankingthree-quarters of Lake Okeechobee.

1941–45In World War II, Florida becamea training ground for tens ofthousands of soldiers. Manylater returned as tourists or tobecome residents.

Drought, Everglades



28

1945 19551950

1955State Board of Healthdeclares Peace River “isnow suffering severelyfrom excessive organicand chemical pollution.”

1948Congress authorizes the Centraland Southern Florida FloodControl Project; U.S. ArmyCorps of Engineers proposesthree water conservation areas.

1949Florida Legislature creates the Central and SouthernFlorida Flood Control District to act as local sponsorfor the federally authorized project.

1947Two hurricanes flood Miami.First algal blooms reported inLake Apopka. Everglades NationalPark opens — “There are no otherEverglades in the world.”— Marjory Stoneman Douglas, The Everglades: River of Grass

President Harry Truman with John Pennekamp atdedication of Everglades National Park, 1947


29

19651960 19651955

1961Congressauthorizes the FourRiver Basins,Florida Project forflood control inTampa area; theSouthwest FloridaWater ManagementDistrict is created;south Floridareceives only 30inches of rain.

1960Hurricane Donna floodsTampa Bay Area.

1959Suwannee River Authorityand Peace River Valley WaterConservation and DrainageDistrict created.

1957Jim Woodruff Lock and Damon the Apalachicola Riverbecomes fully operational.

1964U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recommendsconstruction of a $12.5 million hurricanelevee across Hillsborough Bay at Tampa.“God was good to this country . . . But inHis wisdom the Creator left something formen to do for themselves.”— President Lyndon B. Johnson, Groundbreaking for the Florida Cross State Barge Canal

1962Construction of theKissimmee Canal begins.

1965Congress enacts theFederal Water Quality Act.

Kissimmee River, Canal 38


30

197519701965

1970Four River Basins,Florida project ishalted for restudy;first Earth Day.

1969United States GeologicalSurvey map shows area insouthwestern Polk Countyas a “caution area” forfurther water withdrawals.

1971Congress orders U.S. Army Corps of Engineers todeliver more water to Everglades National Park;construction of the Florida Cross State Barge Canalhalted; canalization of the Kissimmee completed.

1970–71State experiencesworst drought todate.

1966–67Fifteen new sinkholesappear in central Florida,indicating a serious dropin the water table.

1970sEscambia Bayexperiencesrepeated massivefish kills.

1966Central and Southern FloridaFlood Control District pumpsexcess water from farmlandsinto water conservation areas,drowning hundreds of deer.

1972Year of the Environment(see page 9)

1973Record flood occursin the upper reachesof the SuwanneeRiver basin.

1974Big Cypress NationalPreserve, located inOchopee, Florida, next tothe Everglades NationalPark, was established.

Suwannee River at Dowling Park,April 1973 flood

Source: Suwannee River WaterManagement District

31

1975 1980 1985

1980Florida Hazardous Waste ManagementAct enacted. Floridan aquifer levels inFt. Walton Beach area had declined asmuch as 100 feet below sea level.

1979Conservation andRecreation Lands(CARL) Trust Fundestablished. 1981

Florida Legislature createsWater Management LandsTrust Fund, providesfunding for Save OurRivers land-buyingprogram.

1982–83Over 400 drinking water wells innortheastern Jackson Countyfound to be contaminated by thepesticide ethylene dibromide.

1976Summary Report on the Special Project toPrevent Eutrophication of LakeOkeechobee finds “water delivered to LakeOkeechobee from the Kissimmee River byCanal-38 contributes significantly to theeutrophication of the Lake.”

1983Florida Water QualityAssurance Act establishesstatewide groundwatermonitoring network;Governor Bob Grahamannounces the Save OurEverglades program.

1984The Warren S. HendersonWetlands Protection Act isenacted.

1985Elevated levels of nitrogendetected in the upper reachesof the Suwannee River.

1977Upper St. JohnsRiver BasinRestorationProject begins.

32

1985 1990 1995

1988St. Johns River WaterManagement Districtbegins restoration ofLake Apopka.

1989Southwest Florida WaterManagement District declaresnorthern Tampa Bay, easternTampa Bay, and Highlands Ridgeas water use caution areas.

1990Preservation 2000provides$300 million per yearover 10 years topurchaseecologicallyvaluable lands.

1992Hurricane Andrew strikes southern DadeCounty, causing $16 billion in damages;Congress directs the U.S. Army Corps ofEngineers to undertake restoration of theKissimmee River; Southwest Florida WaterManagement District combines its threewater use caution areas to establish theSouthern Water Use Caution Area.

1986Florida Legislatureestablishes the nation’sfirst program to clean upcontamination fromleaking undergroundpetroleum storage tanks.

1995Florida Water Plan adoptedby the Department ofEnvironmental Protectiondeclares “water must bemanaged to meet the waterneeds of the people whilemaintaining, protecting,and improving the state’snatural systems.”

1994Everglades Forever Actoutlines major elementsof Everglades restoration;Tropical Storms Albertoand Beryl and HurricaneOpal flood Panhandle.

1987Florida Surface WaterImprovement andManagement(SWIM) Act enacted.

1993The State Department of Natural Resourcesand Department of EnvironmentalRegulation are merged into theDepartment of Environmental Protection.The Department of Community Affairsestimates 1.3 million Floridians live inareas subject to flooding.

Hurricane Andrew, 1992

Source:South Florida Water Management District

33

2000 20051995

1997Florida Legislature defines regionalwater supply planning responsibilitiesof the five water management districts,local governments, and utilities;Legislature approves an agreement withAlabama and Georgia establishing thebasis for an interstate compact on theApalachicola/Chattahoochee/FlintRiver system; 38 percent of flow fromFlorida’s domestic wastewater treatmentplants is reused.

1996Water management districtsrequired to submit priority listsand schedules for establishmentof minimum flows and levels.

1999Florida Forever Act provides $300 milliondollars per year for 10 years for landacquisition, water resources protectionand supply, ecosystem restoration, andurban parks and open space.

Pitcher plants, Apalachicola National Forest

Upper St. Johns River Basin, 1995

Photo credit:St. Johns River Water Management District

Photo credit: Diane Sterling

Documents

Chapter 1 The Human Framework - South Florida … water. Now, the value and the finite nature of Florida’s water resources are clear. Water managers today are concerned with water