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Impact on Environment and Quality of Life Water

Despite the fact that the state possesses hundreds of lakes and wetlands, sits atop enormous underground aquifers, and receives more than 50 inches of rainfall a year, Florida is having serious water supply problems.5 Water use is forecast to increase 30 percent between 1995 and 2020 as more people move to the state. Central Florida will run out of water in five years unless population growth slows or new water sources are discovered. The area’s water management district warns that the area’s rivers, lakes, and streams will begin to dry up permanently.6 Plans include turning seawater into drinking water, building a massive reservoir, and increasing the use of treated sewage on lawns.7

Traffic: As population growth put more traffic on the roads, the average commute for Florida residents increased 20 percent during the 1990s, to 26 minutes in 2000.8,9, Tampa commuters sit in rush-hour traffic for 45 hours a year.10 Between 1980 and 1997, the total vehicle miles traveled in Florida increased by 99 porcent.11 By 2020, the number of miles traveled on Florida roads is expected to rise by 58 percent.12

Disappearing open space: Florida leads the nation in housing starts, attracting more than 900 new residents every day. ”13 In the Tampa Bay area, nearly 200,000 acres were developed between 1982 and 1997. As more land is paved over, water is prevented from sinking into the soil and replenishing groundwater; the area is estimated to lose between 7.3 million and 17 million gallons of water each year as a result.14 Florida leads the South in the amount of timberland lost to development, dropping from more than 20-million tree-covered acres in the 1950s to 15-million acres.15

Half the Everglades has been lost to farms and development. The east side of the Everglades is almost built out, and officials warn that similar wetlands drainage and habitat destruction to the west are a serious danger. Roads and ditches have blocked and diverted the Everglades’ natural freshwater flows. Wetlands that recharged aquifers and served as nurseries for wildlife have been drained and paved. Polluted runoff from asphalt and agriculture has flowed all the way to the Keys, devastating the Florida Bay.16

Biologists believe there is not enough open land left in the state to support more than 80 panthers, Florida’s official state animal.17

Crowded housing: Studies show that a rise in crowded housing often correlates with an increase in the number of foreign-born.18,19 The number of state households considered severely crowded has risen by 44 percent since 1990.20,21 Miami-Dade has the second highest rate of severe crowding in the U.S., at 11 percent.22

Sprawl: Clearwater, Hialeah, Coral Springs, and Pembroke Pines have been designated “boomburgs ” by the Fannie Mae Foundation. Boomburgs show double-digit population growth for each decade since 1950 and suffer from traffic, congestion, sprawl, and strained services. Unlike traditional cities, they lack a dense business core and remain suburban in character. 23

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