How does the flow of water affect the Everglades?

How does the flow of water affect the Everglades?

Lake Okeechobee is shaped like a very large shallow bowl and when it collects too much water from rain, other lakes, and streams, it overflows its southern edge and water flows out creating the Everglades. As the water flows through the Everglades, it eventually chains into Florida Bay and the Gulf of Mexico.

How does runoff affect the Everglades?

Phosphorus in agricultural and stormwater runoff has degraded water quality in the Everglades since the 1960s. loss of water dissolved oxygen that fish need. changes in the native plant communities that result in a loss of the open water areas where wading birds feed.

How does the Everglades flow?

The Everglades’ flow of water eventually drains into the Gulf of Mexico to the southwest and Florida Bay to the south. Florida Bay is the largest body of water within Everglades National Park, covering more than 800 square miles (2,072 square kilometers), according to the NPS.

Is the air polluted in the Everglades?

Air quality at Everglades National Park. The park is affected by many sources of air pollution, including power plants, urban areas, agriculture, and industry. Pollutants from these sources can harm the park’s natural and scenic resources such as surface waters, vegetation, birds, fish, and visibility.

What are some negative effects of runoff?

Some other effects from stormwater runoff include:

• Property damage. Flooding has increased in some areas because water can’t soak slowly into the ground.
• Water pollution.
• Beach and shellfish closures.
• Increased algal growth.
• Clouded water.

What happened when humans started to control water flow in the Everglades?

Water control has been achieved through the use of drainage canals and pumping stations throughout the Everglades region. This resulted in the building of a dike at Lake Okeechobee, interrupting the sheet flow of water across the Everglades.

Where does the water from the Everglades go?

Just a century ago, water flowed down the Kissimmee River into Lake Okeechobee, then south through the vast Everglades to Florida Bay, the ultimate destination of uninterrupted sheetflow.

How did the Everglades project affect the environment?

While the project still provides many of the intended benefits, the alteration of regional wetland areas, estuaries, and bays — combined with increasing population pressures and changing land uses — has significantly degraded the natural system. Today 50% of south Florida’s original wetland areas no longer exist.

How are canals and levees affecting the Everglades?

This separation and isolation can impair the Everglades’ wildlife communities and sustainability of the ecosystem. Construction of canals and levees and impoundment of the Water Conservation Areas (WCAs) have caused over-drainage of some areas and excessive flooding in other areas.

Why are the Everglades and Florida Bay important?

Background of the Everglades/Florida Bay Ecosystem. The remaining Everglades/Florida Bay area provides significant ecological, water storage, flood control and recreational benefits to the region as well as important habitat for wildlife of national significance.