Fact Sheet 032-98
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Marella, R.L., 1998, Water-quality assessment of southern Florida--wastewater
discharges and runoff: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet FS-032-98, 6 p.
INTRODUCTION
Population growth and activities in the south Florida area over the past 40
years have resulted in increased water use, changes in the distribution and
timing of flow, and deterioration of water quality. These changes threaten
both the remaining natural ecosystem and the growing human population.
Wetlands and shallow waters in the region are sensitive to increased nutrient
and contaminant inputs that are often associated with wastewater discharges
and stormwater runoff. Discharges and runoff reaching the coast through
canals can adversely affect south Florida's estuaries and bays. The Biscayne
aquifer in southeastern Florida, the sole source of drinking water for nearly
3.4 million people, is at risk of contamination because of its shallow depth,
highporosity, and location beneath an area of intense urbanization.
Recent consensus has been reached among Federal and State agencies and
environmental groups that the south Florida ecosystem, and the Everglades in
particular, should be protected and restored, to the extent possible, to its
predevelopment condition. Protection and restoration will require a thorough
understanding of the distribution, amount, and quality of water in the area
and the human and natural processes that affect the water. The U.S. Geological
Survey is providing scientific information that will contribute to the protection
and restoration effort through such programs as NAWQA and the South Florida
Ecosystem Initiative.
This report provides information on sources of wastewater discharge and runoff
within the Southern Florida (SOFL) NAWQA study area (fig. 1). This information
can be used in evaluating the potential effects of wastewater on water quality
of the region.
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