The Water Cycle

"The water on earth is continuously circulating between the air or atmosphere, the land and the sea. The ways in which the water moves around, above, on and within the Earth is the hydrologic or water cycle.

The sun is the energy source for the water cycle, causing water to evaporate from lakes, rivers, and oceans, as well as from land surfaces and vegetation. When water evaporates, it changes to a gas (water vapor) and rises in the air. When the water vapor rises and meets cold air, it condenses, forming water droplets, or what we see as clouds or fog. This process is called condensation. Water droplets combine into water drops and return to the Earth as precipitation in the form of rain, sleet, hail, or snow…."

"Some rain is absorbed by plants or evaporates before it reaches the ground. Some evaporates after it hits the ground. Some soaks into the ground and is taken up by the roots of plants and then released back into the air through the process of transpiration…. Some rain soaks beneath the water table into underground units of water-bearing rock called aquifers. The remainder becomes surface or stormwater runoff that flows over the ground to wetlands, lakes, ponds, rivers and oceans." (Pages 36-37)

Florida’s Water Cycle

"Florida’s water cycle includes the flow of surface and ground water from Georgia and Alabama into northern and northwestern Florida as well as outflows to the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. Hydrologist Garald Parker was the first to discover that neither surface water nor ground water crosses a line snaking across the peninsula from Cedar Key on the Gulf to New Smyrna Beach on the Atlantic (Betz 1984). This line is known as the hydrologic divide. South of the hydrologic divide, Florida is an island as far as fresh water is concerned: It totally depends on rainfall for its fresh water, including ground water stored in aquifers. North of the hydrologic divide, Florida receives water from outside the state." (Page 37)

Florida’s Water Resources

"Florida is, indeed, blessed with water. Yet you can’t see most of Florida’s fresh water: it seeps beneath the ground through sand and gravel and flows through cracks and channels in underlying limestone. The amount of ground water under Florida’s forests, pastures, cities, marshes, roads, schools and suburbs is mind-boggling: more than a quadrillion gallons. This is equivalent to about one-fifth of the water in all five of the Great Lakes, 100 times as much water as in Lake Meade on the Colorado River, and 30,000 times the daily flow to the sea of Florida’s 13 major rivers (Conover 1973). In fact, Florida has more available ground water in aquifers than any other state.

Florida also has abundant surface water in springs, rivers, lakes, bays and wetlands. Of the 84 first-magnitude springs (those that discharge water at a rate of 100 cubic feet per second or more) in the United States, 33 are in Florida — more than any other state. Within Florida’s boundaries are approximately 16,000 kilometers (10,000 square miles) of rivers and streams and 7,800 lakes (Kautz et al. 1998). Although more than half of Florida’s original wetlands have been drained or developed (Noss and Peters 1995), the state still has vast and diverse wetlands. The Florida Everglades and Big Cypress Swamp cover much of southern Florida, and some Florida wetland communities, such as mangrove swamps and hydric (wet) hammocks, rarely occur in other states." (Pages 49-50)

Ground Water/Aquifers

"Aquifers are underground rocks that hold water. In Florida, three aquifers are used for water supply: the Floridian aquifer, the intermediate aquifer and the superficial aquifer. In northwest Florida, the superficial aquifer is called the sand and gravel aquifer, and in southeast Florida, it is called the Biscayne aquifer.

The Floridian aquifer has been called Florida’s rain barrel (Parker 1951) and is one of the most productive aquifers in the world. Each day Floridians use about 2.5 billion gallons of water from the Floridian aquifer…. Over most of Florida, the Floridian aquifer is covered by sand, limestone that ranges in thickness from a few feet in parts of west-central and north-central Florida to hundreds of feet in ….northeastern Florida, southeastern Florida and the westernmost Panhandle. Within the aquifer, water may travel quickly or very slowly. In parts of the aquifer with caves and large conduits, water may travel several miles in only a few hours. Where water-filled spaces are small and underground routes convoluted, it may take days, weeks, or even years for water to travel the same distance.

In the past several decades, increased pumping of ground water has lowered the water levels in the Floridian aquifer in several places in Florida including the Panhandle, northeastern and southwestern Florida. Water is replaced in the Floridian aquifer by rainfall that soaks into the ground. This is referred to as recharge. (Pages 53-54)

That’s a brief description of the water cycle, Florida’s water cycle, Florida’s water resources, and groundwater/aquifers. As stated above, the Floridian aquifer depends on rainfall to recharge itself. The population in Florida is growing and growth comes with a price. More people means more ground water will be pumped and coupled with drought conditions the negative impact on the aquifers is magnified. Much depends on weather cycles and whether or not we get rain. The bad news is we’ve not had much rain. The good news is that droughts sometimes occur in Florida, but they are followed by the rain. According to SWFWMD, moderate droughts occur frequently, and severe droughts occur in some parts of the state about every six years.

In our little corner of the world we depend on rain and weather patterns to keep everything right. While we wait for the rains to come, please consider what a drought does to our lakes and rivers. Now, picture this: drought conditions, low water and low aquifers combined with unbridled growth, overdevelopment and over pumping. The image is not one we want to see played out in our little corner of the world. Will unbridled growth, overdevelopment and over pumping eventually turn our great state dry? Do all you can to conserve and protect our precious water resources. Without water there will be no future for our children and our children’s children.

Do all you can to protect and conserve our water. Do all you can to help TOOFAR fulfill its mission. Become involved. Attend a meeting. And most important — Don’t Ever Give Up!

Note: The Publication entitled Florida Waters is available from SWFWMD. To order a copy call 800-423-1476 and ask for publications. Call TOOFAR at (352) 726-5004 with all other questions.