Statement To Governor



 Reubin O'D. Askew



From The Governor's Conference On


Water Management In South Florida


 There is a water crisis in South Florida today. This crisis has
long-range and short-range aspects. Every major water area in the
South Florida basin, Everglades National Park, the conservation
areas, Lake Okeechobce and the Kissimmee Valley is steadily
deteriorating in quality from a variety of polluting sources that
are detailed below. The quantity of water, though potentially
adequate for today's demand, cannot now be managed effectively
over wet/dry cycles to assure a minimum adequate water supply
in extended drought periods.
WATER SUPPLY QUANTITY
 To initiate an action program to solve problems in the area of
water quantity, a careful assessment must be made of water
demands linked to projected growth. For an adequate long-range
water supply, the State must have an enforceable comprehensive
land and water use plan. This plan must be developed immediately.
It must be designed to limit increases in population and
machines, with their attendant demands on the water supply, to a
level that will insure a quality environment. Such a management
plan would include, as its first objective, a complete inventory
and assessment of long-range water resources. The controlling
factor in this water resource assessment should be the water supply
that can be anticipated in times of shortest supply. A result of
this planning effort would be a water budget system based on
available resources. This system would serve as a limitation on
allowable population increases.
WATER SUPPLY QUALITY
 Water quality is a far graver problem in the long run than is
water quantity. The quality of the water in the South Florida
water basin is deteriorating. This deterioration stems from the
introduction into the basin of pesticides, herbicides, animal and
industrial wastes, heavy metals, salt water, sewage and heated
waters. Channelization has contributed substantially to the process
of deterioration. Water quality in the basin may be restored and
maintained by:
 1. Zoning or acquiring the flood plains in the basin.
 2. Reflooding the Kissimmee marshes.
 3. Initiating a comprehensive treatment program to treat
 pollutants at the source before they enter the water system.
 (This would necessitate initiation of treatment procedures
 in agricultural areas and up-grading existing procedures in
 urban areas.)
 4. Phasing out back pumping into Lake Okeechobee or
 requiring effective treatment at the source before back
 pumping.
 0


 5. Research and funding which should begin immediately to
 study what to do about recycling water and sewage
 effluents and solid waste disposal.

LAND RECLAMATION
 There should be no further draining of wetlands1 for any
purpose. As an initial step in controlling the drainage of wetlands,
it is recommended that Chapter 298 of the Florida Statutes
(Soil drainage district law 1913) be repealed. Wetlands are the
most biologically productive of all lands. The need to preserve
them stems from their value for recreation, water storage, aquatic
productivity, nutrient removal and for aquifer recharge. A program
should be initiated to reflood the marshes of the Kissimmee
Valley. A ricultural lands and marshes not resdently in production
be-ow 7ke Okeechobee shoul-calso be reflooded. The initial
efforts shouldbe pilot projects that can provide a clearer assess-
ment of the benefits and techniques of reflooding. It is crucial to
reverse the process of the steady loss of organic soils.2 Reflooding
is the primary method for accomplishing this objective. This
programshould include the acquisition and cnnQnlidaltin lia ds
byjthe State in selected areas north of Consenation Area Three
and or ne Conservation Area Tw as a major ilot prram.
Its purpose shall be toetermine the effect ofcontron ng water
levels, filtering pollutants and recycling wastes to build up organic
soils. Muck conservation programs should be coordinated and
pursued immediately by the Central and Southern Florida Flood
Control District and Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust
Fund. Even if mucklands are not used for agriculture, their
preservation an r-j o o are necessary to maintain the
eco gical balance of the South Florida basin. Reestablishment
of sawgrass may be the best solution to replenishment of the
mucklands. However, other approaches should be considered on
an experimental basis, including the use of organic material such
as sewage sludge.
 (A minority position held that limited drainage of wetlands to
serve a clear public interest, under strict controls, may be
justified.)
POPULATION
 There is a limit to the number of people which the South
Florida basin can support and at the same time maintain a

Wetlands, swamps, marshes, bogs, etc.
Organic soils in the South Florida-Everglades area are commonly referred ,
to as muck or muckland. .