Florida’s Aquifers
Florida is blessed with an abundance of water. Much of the water originates in the Okeefenokee Swamp in Georgia, and is supplemented at numerous recharge sites where rainwater seeps into our aquifers.
The three types of Aquifers: the Surficial (shallow), the Intermediate and the Floridan (deep).
Sources of impurities in Florida’s drinking water:
- Pesticides, Herbicides, Arsenic and other man-made compounds run into streams, rivers and sinkholes and ultimately end up in our Florida aquifers.
- Nationally, billions of pounds of sewage sludge and toxins are dumped into our prairies, lakes, rivers and oceans each year.
- Industrial pollutants such as sulfur and nitrogen oxides belch from industrial smoke stacks in the South East later falling as acid rain.
- Cadmium from batteries and paint leaks and pollutes the water.
- Population growth, urban and suburban sprawl, stress fresh water supply.
- Biological Pathogens such as bacteria and virus; cysts such as Giardia and Cryptosporidium, or viral water contamination.
- Chlorine and other disinfectants used by municipalities to control bacteria and viruses result in THM’s.
- Our water is disinfected with products harmful to our health.
Hydrological Cycle
Nature in Florida
As rain falls from the sky, it passes through clouds of industrial pollutants creating carbonic acid. This increases the universal solvent ability of water to dissolve a little bit of everything it touches. When it hits the earth, especially in metropolitan areas, it flows across the surfaces washing parking lots and highways of oils, grease and animal waste ultimately finding a location where it begins to penetrate the earth’s surface. As water flows through the soil it then picks up additional contaminants.
As water flows through:
- Water picks up inorganic minerals: like porous rocks (shale and limestone) that make water hard and neutralize water’s acidity. This presents problems in your home and on your body.
- Iron bearing rocks: water collects iron, causing rust and reddish stains in clothing and sinks.
- Manganese: in water it collects the tendency to stain things black and to impart a bitter taste.
- Sand: water maintains its acid condition and can dissolve plumbing and sink fixtures.
- Marshy or swampy areas: water becomes more acidic as it mixes with gasses such as methane, carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide. It may also acquire color from tannins and lignins.
- Sink holes or cracks in our Karst topography: pollutants wash off the earths surface and can run directly into our drinking water aquifers.