FLORIDA – For years, the authorities who manage the waters in Southern Florida have struggled to reverse the damage done to the Everglades, flood control efforts have done their best to imitate nature, sending fresh water to the marshes according to whether it is the dry or rainy season.
But now researchers who study the information collected over 16 years, say that rising sea levels are overtaking restoration efforts. And to save the swamps, they say, you have to change the strategy.
Sea level rising “has gained momentum and is increasing at a faster pace since 2012,” said Rene Price, a hydrologist at the International University of Florida (FIU) and co-author of a new study that analyses the increase in sea levels and the restoration work of the Everglades. “It is almost imperative that this be taken into account now.”
The restoration of the Everglades is aimed at solving the damage caused by the enormous flood control systems of Southern Florida, which began to drain the swamps in the late 1940 s. But when a plan was established in 2000 to send more water to the marshes, Biscayne Bay and Florida Bay, the dramatic impact of climate change was not anticipated.
The sea level rising has already begun to affect the coasts, where the mangroves move inland and the area of grass from fresh water is reduced.
It is common to see small groups of mangroves of water settle in the marshes. And when the grass dies, the peat that has accumulated for thousands of years is compacted, which reduces the soil level.
Scientists now say that the southern part of the Everglades has reached a critical point.
What is less clear is who is the culprit: the approximately 5 inches that sea level rising since 2001 in the southern Everglades or the long-standing efforts to control floods.
“We want to know if this information collected for so long indicates the cause, the level of the sea or the management of the floods,” said Price, a researcher of this project.
What they determined was that the rise in sea level is exceeding the flow of fresh water during the dry season.
By the time the rains come in the spring, and the Southern Florida Hydraulic District starts sending more water to the south – which the district monitors the rains and usually starts sending water about 10 weeks after the start of the rainy season – by then, It’s too late to control the damage.
So, instead of using the seasons to make decisions, the researchers say the district needs to study the water level and the differences between salt and fresh water.
“Basically, the level of fresh water should be higher than that of salt water,” said Price. “They wait way too long to send fresh water, and salt water has been allowed in during the first months of the rainy season.”
The study has shown that the forests throughout the United States, especially humid forests, capable of absorbing large amounts of carbon dioxide, are being revalued in terms of conservation.
The mangroves in the Everglades National Park offer carbon dioxide storage worth between $ 2 and $ 3.4 million . A recent evaluation by the Dogwood Alliance, a non-profit organisation in North Carolina that studied economic factors such as tourism, water supply and treatment, and protection against extreme weather events such as hurricanes, places the value of wet forests of South Florida in almost the $ 81,000 million mark, more than any other state.
It also turns out that the people of Southern Florida, not just the environmentalists, are willing to pay to save the wetlands.
Another FIU study, to be published in the Science of Total Environment , surveyed more than 2,300 people and concluded that when it came to deciding whether to restore swamps or face water restrictions, most were willing to pay $ 18 a year to the restoration work. And if the restoration included the protection of endangered species, they were willing to pay even more.
“The benefits resonate more among the public because they can be linked to their well-being,” said author Nadia Seeteram in a statement.
It is not clear what will be needed to increase the flow of water to the south, or if there is enough water for it.
Last year, the National Academy of Sciences concluded in its annual review of the restoration work that much more fresh water is likely to be needed to bring the projects to par. Plans to build a huge dam failed and the original proposal to use 60,000 acres was reduced to 17,000 acres.
Randy Smith, spokesman for the Southern Florida Hydraulic District, said in an email on Friday that the agency is analyzing the study.
Price said “I think the district should seriously think about changing the schedule of sending fresh water to the Everglades National Park and not depend on the plan about the rains,”. “Fresh water should be sent throughout the year and not only during the rainy season.”
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