14 DAY TRIAL // Researchers at the University of Florida Research and Education Centers and scientists at the South Florida Water Management District have carried out a study assessing for nitrogen and phosphorus within the water in the Everglades National Park, and concluded that the quality of the water has improved.
They actually wanted to know more about the variations in water quality coming from the Water Conservation Areas and the system of Storm Water Treatment Areas, which are the regions that supply water to Everglades National Park, control flooding, and also repair the quality of the water.
The report of the study shows that the situation is much better than it was in the 1970s, as phosphorus and nitrogen levels have declined.
Researchers believe that this improvement is due to the restoration methods implanted in the areas surrounding the park.
For the study, data from 1997 through 2005 was analyzed and the levels of nitrogen and phosphorus from seven inflows to the national park were tested too.
Ed Hanlon, the author of the report, says that the main cause of the degradation of the condition, distribution and flow of the surface water that comes into the park are the historical changes in the landscape.
Agricultural expansion and the urbanization around the Kissimmee River and Lake Okeechobee rose the run-off of waste, and canal and levee construction broke the natural flow patterns.
Since the 1960s, there were some environmental concerns that were raised but the economy of the state of Florida were the priority: the canals and levees drained areas that were inappropriate for agriculture and urban development, and also contributed to reducing the damage to property and the loss of human life caused by flooding because of hurricanes and heavy rains.
Still there were some very good management practices that were implemented regionally at the same period, in the Everglades Agricultural Area and several urban areas, as well as the Water Conservation Areas and the Storm Water Treatment Areas.
Another factor causing variations in the levels of phosphorus and nitrogen from the samples is the amount of precipitation within a year, and as the researchers found, the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus even exceeded water quality standards at several sites during the study period.
The report is published by the American Society of Agronomy, the Crop Science Society of America, and the Soil Science Society of America, in the September-October 2010 Journal of Environmental Quality.