Area lakes in North central Florida are at record lows as dry conditions continue in the area and throughout the state.
- Source: Wuft
Share the Water
Based on the book The Ripple Effect by Alex Prud’Homme, Last Call at the Oasis makes its theater 
premiere in May 2012. Already screened at various spring film festivals across the country, the documentary has received praise from reviewers, including Huffington Post Green:
If there’s one film that every human on earth should be required to watch, this is it.
—Stefanie Penn Spear
Director Jessica Yu puts the global water crisis center stage with this documentary that highlights the social challenges, politics, and mechanics of making sure everyone in the world gets an adequate supply of fresh water. The film features environmental activist Erin Brockovich, water experts, and others who present the problems and solutions.
See the trailer.
Sea Level Rise and Florida Coastal Forests
No doubt most Floridians are aware of the potential challenges of sea level rise–at least in relationship to their houses, property, and communities. Ecosystems, though, may be a less visible problem for many residents of the sunshine state.
Francis E. “Jack” Putz wants to bring the plight of at least one ecosystem community to the foreground. He recently published an article, “Coastal Forests Retreat as Sea Levels Rise,” about how Florida’s coastal forests will likely respond to sea level rise.
“I hope that Floridians accept that sea level rise is something about which we need to be concerned now, and not just people in [other countries] and not just our children’s children,” Putz wrote in an email release about the article that has been published in the Palmetto, a quarterly journal for the Florida Native Plant Society.
“[The article] is 20 years of research,” said the professor of conservation biology at the University of Florida, Gainesville, Fla. Putz teaches courses on the ecology and management of local and tropical ecosystems. His research includes silviculture, fire ecology, and ethnobotany.
Changes in Ocean Salinity Intensifying Water Cycle, Report Says
Mother Jones translates a scientific study appearing in Science magazine that shows evidence that changes in the saltiness of areas of the ocean are causing shifting weather patterns, including more or less precipitation. The study posits that moving forward dry regions of the world are going to get even drier and wetter regions could be prone to more flooding.
- Source: Motherjones
Raking Glen Springs Back to Life
Eleanor K. Sommer
Pressure-washed message makes plea to help Glen Springs.
Volunteers showed up at Glen Springs in Gainesville, Florida, Saturday morning to restore a once popular bathing area. Never heard of Glen Springs? That’s because it’s on private property, tucked behind the Elks Lodge on NW 23rd Avenue next to Alfred Ring Park.
Linda Califf, a member of the lodge, was inspired in the summer of 2011 to begin clean up of the headspring and the pool and was joined by other Elks lodge members and some friends. Six hours of hard work were rewarded with a sparkle in the water that replaced the formerly dense mats of algae.
Those involved in the project said the water has begun to flow more freely from the spring that is one of six that flow into the Glen Spring run and then on to Hogtown Creek.
Saturday’s clean cleanup effort attracted new volunteers. Some were curious neighbors and others came to because they remembered the pool from their childhood.
“I came here for swimming lessons back in the 1960s,” said Paul Czapiga, owner of Gainesville Pool Renovators. Czapiga donated his time and equipment to help with the restoration.
Eleanor K. Sommer
Paul Czapiga, bottom right, pool contractor volunteering at Glen Springs.
The three-tiered pool was designed by architect Guy Chandler Fulton, who also designed several buildings on the University of Florida campus including the Smathers Libraries and some of the dormitories.
Califf looked into the history of the pool and created a pamphlet to promote clean up. According to her research, the pool was built in the 1920s by Cicero Addison Pound. From the ‘20s until the 1970s the pool and the attached pavilion (now the Elk Lodge) had been a place for recreation, dancing, and swimming. Lifeguards drained and cleaned the pool every Sunday, Califf discovered.
Lesley Gamble rakes algae from bottom of pool at Glen Springs.
Springs enthusiast Lesley Gamble, who teaches at the University of Florida, donned a wetsuit and climbed into the pool to rake algae from the bottom. By the time a dozen or so volunteers had climbed in, the water had become murky.
“It will settle down again,” Califf said, pointing to the crystal clear water emerging from a little pipe out of the spring vent.
“This is living water,” Gamble said, and then began to tell Califf about a polluted river in China that was diverted as a demonstration project to show citizens how the water could be cleaned through aeration and vegetative filters.
The installation, called The Living Water Garden, she said, could be an inspiration for Glen Springs. The project brings together art, education, and community, said Gamble, who recently taught a class called Art, Water, and Ecology at the university.
A fund has been established by the Elks to help support the project. To find out more about Glen Springs, contact Califf at lindacaliff@att.net.
Florida under Exceptional Drought Conditions
A drought is gripping the nation, and according to a report issued April 10 by the U.S. Drought Monitor, the country has not been this dry in five years. The South Florida Water Management District has issued water restrictions in 16 counties, and Lake Okeechobee is two feet below its historical average level of 14.12 feet.
The interactive map on the U.S. Drought Monitor site shows drought areas across the nation, for regions and for individual states. Jacksonville has experienced the driest period this year since1921. Monitoring stations reported the driest such 6-month period on record for Florida, especially in north-central Florida, according to the Drought Monitor report. South Florida has had slightly more rainfall than the rest of the state, but there is still a lack of decent short-term precipitation.
The U.S. Drought Monitor is a joint effort of the Joint Agricultural Weather Facility (U.S. Department of Agriculture and Department of Commerce/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; Climate Prediction Center (U.S. Department of Commerce/NOAA/National Weather Service; National Climatic Data Center (DOC/NOAA), and other agencies and academic organizations.
Florida Drought Levels
Florida’s Water Readiness
Florida is one of the states least ready to deal with water issues due to climate change, according to an April 5 report by the National Resources Defense Council. The ratings are based on a list of criteria including rainfall predictions, water supply challenges, extreme storm events sea leave rise, saltwater intrusion, and preparedness.
In her NRDC blog Rebecca Hammer discussed her take on some of the reasons Florida fared poorly in the report:
Florida lags far behind other states in preparing for climate change impacts. Under former Governor Charlie Crist, the state seemed well on its way to getting ready—statewide greenhouse gas pollution reduction goals were set, and the Florida Energy and Climate Commission was established to implement actions to reduce emissions of global warming pollution and prepare for climate impacts. However, under the administration of current Governor Rick Scott (who doesn’t believe in man-made climate change), the commission has been abolished and state agencies are doing very little to prepare for climate change.
Visit the NRDC Web page for an interactive map of the U.S. showing each state’s preparedness, a list and explanation of the criteria involved in creating the rankings as well as a pdf of the NRDC brief on the report.
A Respect for Water
Running through an unfamiliar downtown is one of the best ways to get acquainted with the heartbeat of a city, especially in Nashville. With so many performance venues, open spaces either in front of the courthouse or between arenas, there is a lot to explore in Downtown Nashville to the banjo rhythms coming out of the Honky-Tonks. When you run up and up and finally to the look-out that is the state capitol, you look down on Bicentennial Park, an impressive tribute to statehood unlike anything that exists in Florida. It’s well known that a significant portion of Florida’s population is not native to Florida, and after seeing the physical manifestation of state pride in Tennessee; the problems Florida faces when it comes to protecting natural resources make much more sense. Tennessee has 13 rivers, and 13 lakes and Bicentennial park is built upon McNairy Spring which supplied the city when it was founded. These rivers, lakes, creeks, streams and springs all get a special tribute in the form of a monument, because Tennesseans have realized the value of water and in light of the 2010 floods, they understand that it can destroy all that it gives. Floridians haven’t caught on and being surrounded by water gives the false illusion that we have plenty while Tennessee, a landlocked state, has had time to learn how important the water is. The water monument is the physical manifestation of a respect for a precious gift, unfortunately you need to spend time somewhere in order to develop a respect like that. That’s the problem Florida faces: it just hasn’t quite nestled itself into the hearts of the 1,000 people who move to the state daily and they in turn haven’t developed the need to respect it.
Water and Global Security (The Diane Rehm Show on NPR)
NPR’s Diane Rehm Show (from member station WAMU) took a look at how water is becoming an increasingly scarce resource. The American intelligence community is now warning that water conflicts could destabilize entire regions across the globe over the next decade. Listen in as guest host Tom Gjelten and various experts discuss this topic.
- Source: Thedianerehmshow
Drying Times
Florida continues to experience low annual rainfall, the only source of water to replenish the Floridan aquifer. This deep underground storage tank supplies 90 percent of Floridians with fresh water for drinking, manufacturing, growing food, sprinkling on lush landscaping, washing cars and clothes, and filling swimming pools.
Is it in peril?
Floridians might take note of two Texas towns that have run out of water. More than 1000 towns in Texas have water restrictions and 17 are considered critical in terms of water supplies. A recent PBS News Hour story reported the following:
“Topping that list is the town of Spicewood Beach, a community of 500 homes on the shores of Lake Travis near Austin. Spicewood relies on wells fed by water from both the lake and the aquifer below the town. Too much water use and too little rainfall last year caused the water table to sink to historic lows. This January, Spicewood Beach became the first Texas town to run out of water.”
There are lots of ways to save water. Cities and counties all over Florida have materials and programs to help Floridians conserve water, fix leaks, and find water savings appliances. Check out information on Web pages for your local government or utility or go to the water management districts Web page to find a link to your district.