South Florida is desperate for a solution to Lake Okeechobee’s high-water discharges that hurt the coastal estuaries, their people, economies, and ecosystems.
But proposed deep injection wells (DIW) are just wasteful, permanently flushing excess water underground.
For a system in disarray, letting millions of gallons of water go down the drain may sound attractive, but it’s the wrong move for a state already facing worsening water shortages.
America’s Everglades also need freshwater desperately, not receiving anywhere near their historic flows from Lake Okeechobee.
More: Deep injection wells are old, flawed thinking Water scarcity is the future of Florida.
All five South Florida water regions predict critical shortages in the next 20 years and recommend new projects to store, not trash, water during wet periods to help us get through drier times.
DIW would waste water needed by the Caloosahatchee and Lake Okeechobee during droughts.
Throwing away water will aggravate water scarcity, harming our ecosystems and economy and making people and agriculture fear for tomorrow’s water supply.
Lucky for us, Everglades restoration offers a smarter alternative to DIW that addresses both our wet and dry problems.
Florida and its water managers should keep our focus on Everglades restoration and other good ways to protect Florida’s current and future water supply.