Tallahassee must decide how to spend the funds that Florida voters overwhelmingly said, last November, should go toward conservation efforts. When the choice is stated — as between infrastructure improvements and land acquisition — many environmental groups in Florida suggest that the choice is a “no-brainer.[and. . .]
This is seen in the editorializing in favor of buying agricultural land to increase the flow of the Everglades’ water south. Proponents argue that this will help, for instance, the Indian River Lagoon (IRL). Stories about its degradation have become distressingly familiar.
There is an increasing body of science pointing the finger at discharges from the sky — that’s right, rain. With the vast majority of the residents in the IRL area flushing their household waste into septic tanks, that waste is pushed as shallow subsurface water into the lagoon with every heavy rainfall. [emphasis added]
Nine pounds of nitrogen — per person, per year — is discharged into the IRL “headwaters,” so it’s not hard to imagine what is feeding the toxic algae blooms. That is what is driving those who argue that infrastructure improvements are an important use of these funds.
The Florida Keys took this message and, in the 1980s, began replacing septic tanks with municipal sewage-treatment systems, and that project continues today.
[and. . .]
So, the next time you hear someone blame everything on Lake Okeechobee discharges, without mentioning the effect of human sewage from septic tanks, take the time to educate them.
![Dr. W. H. Cotton’s ode: “Oh, My Lake Worth, Florida!” [circa 1920].](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yhHyCn84ZIQ/WezjlEL-0tI/AAAAAAAAPZ4/CzkhriK6zpEJJ3d9Je1495d49gIhnMlxACK4BGAYYCw/s1600/LakeWorthPioneers.JPG)
