Prompt Entry Five

Water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink

Florida has the most coastline, seven hundred miles, than any other state. It used to seem odd to me that we had a water shortage when water could be seen almost anywhere. There are 7,700 lakes in Florida. Along with lakes, there’s the Gulf, the Atlantic, springs, rivers, and ponds.

When I first moved to Pasco County, I met a native of the area who showed me two lakes that flourished throughout his childhood. One was a dry ditch, a huge bowl of brown, dead grass. Another held a small, muddy pool of water about forty percent of the circumference of what should have been the lake. He told me lakes were “drying up” because Pinellas County, where Clearwater and St. Petersburg Beaches are, pumped Pasco’s aquifer for their needs. Pinellas caters to the tourism industries. The population, golf courses, and resort water fountains all demanded water that the county couldn’t provide, so they would pump water from the Pasco aquifer where many lakes dried up or became so low that wildlife would diminish considerably. If too much water is pulled from the aquifer, Gulf water is also pulled into the aquifer and then salination contaminates it for drinking. It takes a lot of rain water to refresh the aquifer. The practice of grabbing water from the county was controversial, and citizens pressured local governments. Eventually the water pumping was regulated, and three neighboring counties – Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas—shared the pumping and use by forming Tampa Bay Water. The lakes filled again and I’ve not again seen them dried up as I did ten years ago.

Almost a decade later, Pasco residents had to protect their aquifer again from outsiders. A landfill company had a bid to build a large landfill near the Green Swamp, one of the largest protected wetlands in the state. A large part of the swamp is located in Pasco County and is directly linked with the aquifer. The water from the aquifer would have been contaminated from the landfill. Citizens pressured local and state governments, and last year the bid was finally rejected for the last time, so we think.

Pasco residents have had to protect their water sources from outside risks. Community strengths are loud and organized voices to protect the local aquifers. I believe the community should also show strength in a preventative way. Recycling became available at the same time as the landfill was rejected. The landfill was close to being a reality, and this was partly because we are producing too much trash. Preventative measures should be thought of before environmental threats move in so closely. Residents should be more at the forefront of sustainability and resourcefulness. Tampa Bay Water diffused and regulated the water problem in neighboring counties, but we are still under mandatory water restrictions throughout the year. In light of this, Florida yards should not demand so much water. Florida lawns and landscaping often flourish with non-native plants that are not drought-tolerant. Their high-maintenance needs demand a water supply. An alternative is Florida native plants. Not only do they preserve our native species and provide habitat for native birds, insects and other animals, but many are drought resistant and do not demand our water.

I attempted to replace non-native plants with a native, Florida-friendly yard lately. I found nurseries, Home Depots, Walmarts did not carry native plants. The closest nursery to the eastern part of my county was a one hour drive. I was led there by their elaborate website that listed native varieties in pages with price lists. When I arrived, the one-city-block nursery had one small corner dedicated to expensive, native varieties. I walked out of the nursery with three wild coffee plants, a $20 expense. The Florida Native Plant Society discourages uprooting and replanting native plants found in the woods and forests, which would have been my next step. I’ve had a note on my calendar for the last month for the March 13th native plant sale over on the coast. I’ll head over next weekend to find more native plants. This shouldn’t be so hard, though.

We need both local and big box businesses to get on board with providing native plants for Florida friendly landscaping to reduce our water needs.