Recent Everglades Flooding



The Everglades is an area that is subjected to seasonal flooding, since “natural
streams are inadequate to remove excess rainfall during wet seasons” (Eden 1959). The wildlife in the Everglades have adapted around this schedule, utilizing tree islands when the water level rises. Although drought events are rare, serious flood events have been recorded in recent history due to an increased prevalence of tropical storms and hurricanes. 

Historically, almost all of Southeast Florida was wetland. The region, “except for a 5- to 15-mile-wide strip along a bedrock ridge, was subject to annual floods.” Now, the Everglades have been reduced to 50% of their historical size to account for agriculture and development. Due to human interference and water control efforts, the Everglades’s “primary water source, other than local rainfall, [is] a system of artificial canals” (Ingebritsen 1999). 

Human attempts to control flooding created a dangerous situation for those living in areas that used to be floodplain, including Miami, which is located on the Southeastern coast and extends up to the Everglades boundary. 

In November of 2017, for example, the Everglades experienced some of the worst flooding in recorded history. The cause of this was a series of storms. From Naples News, “an unnamed tropical system dumped about a foot of rain across south Florida in early June. Hurricane Irma brought another foot or so in September, then Tropical Storm Philippe dumped a few more inches on the landscape” (Naples News). This particular flood buried so many tree islands that wading birds and other wildlife suffered heavy losses. 

Even more recently, flooding led to Everglades National Park closures. Summer rains in August, 2019, led to several restrictions on travel to allow sensitive wildlife to thrive. Boats were not allowed within 100 yards of tree islands, and road closures included “the L4 and L5 south levee roads that run along the Palm Beach County-Broward County border west of U.S. 27” (CBS). 

Sources:


Eden, E. W. (1959). Floods of the Florida Everglades. Journal of the Hydraulics Division, 85(6), 43-59.

Ingebritsen, S. E., McVoy, C., Glaz, B., & Park, W. (1999). Subsidence threatens agriculture and complicates ecosystem restoration. Land Subsidence in the United States, 95-106.

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