The Environmental Concerns for South Floridians
— Alba Rosa, O.J. Cabrera and Fatema Al Sakiti
It’s possible that, over the past few years, the sandy beaches and luxurious skyscrapers of South Florida have enticed Americans from colder climates to move south. However, counties like Miami-Dade, Broward, and West Palm Beach have a particular issue that stands out from the excitement of living here — several environmental catastrophes, like water and coastal pollution, that impact the region’s ecosystem and biodiversity and, in turn, affect Floridians’ livelihoods.
Most cases that are open as of today’s date are concentrated in areas that are preparing to urbanize bigger and better projects to bring more people from out of state to South Florida. Some areas preparing for the potential influx of citizens are Wynwood and North Miami Beach. Meanwhile, under-appreciated cities suffer second-hand repercussions of urbanization and the damage to our environment so bad they must flee for their health, safety, and even finances.
For example, the damage pollution loadings have done to Florida’s coastlines, rivers, and lakes. Other states are dealing with these challenges, and some states have a higher degree of pollution based on geography.
The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Program controls point source and stormwater discharges. In Florida, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has delegated authority to issue NPDES permits to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
According to 2023 data, in Florida, the number of individual NPDES permits with major designations is 400 — a large number compared to the region. For instance, we can see that Georgia has 204 individual NPDES permits with major designations. The percentage of pollutant loading is 42 in Florida and 98% in Georgia. The overall numbers and percentages of majors with pollutant loadings provide insight into how individual permit holders contribute to water pollution.
Water pollution is an impending danger on Florida’s coast. Mangroves, Coral reefs, and local wildlife are slowly dying due to water pollution. Numerous cases show construction sites dump their waste into the coastal waterways. About 1.6 billion gallons of waste were spilled into Florida’s local waterways between 2015 and 2020. These spills not only harm Florida’s ecosystem but also harm Florida’s residents. These spills fuel toxic algae blooms that kill fish and local coral reefs. Therefore, the state is actively pursuing to stop these violators to keep our coast safe and clean.
Florida may not be the state with the highest number, but the data does not provide specific information on what the pollutants are nor the severity of their impact, which is crucial for a comprehensive understanding of water quality issues.
And, to recall urbanization issues, hazardous situations involving these projects don’t just affect the average citizen but the environment surrounding them as well. The following visualization represents a few of the scenarios.
At last, problems like pollution and urbanization in low-income areas don’t show any signs of stopping. The influx of well-off Americans from the north only puts more pressure to construct more luxurious apartments and areas for them — leaving those native to South Florida behind.
