Overcrowding?
Nature will fix that
By CARL HIAASEN
In the absence of a
sane growth-management policy, nature is becoming the great equalizer in
A 17-month drought has made a puddle of
Water managers warn that, unless
consumption is drastically reduced, the taps could run dry -- or, at the least,
start spitting salt -- in several coastal communities. Forget about watering
your lawn; you won't be able to water your kids.
The emergency is so dire that even a
busy hurricane season may not make it go away.
Drought cycles here are nothing new,
but this is the first one to occur with 18 million people encamped on the
peninsula. They might cut back on sprinkling their geraniums, but they won't
stop taking showers or washing their laundry
Not many politicians are brave enough
to cite overpopulation as a cause of the current crisis, though it is. There
are too many people using too much water, but it's easier to blame the weather.
The state's primitive, low-tech economy
revolves around cramming as many humans as possible onto every available acre.
Few in
This is where nature steps in. Try
selling a new home or a condo when briny crud is dripping from the spigots.
Since its infancy,
The
Unlike
Building moratoriums
Once a contaminated well is shut down,
it can take years to bring it safely back on line. Said Jesus Rodriguez,
spokesman for the South Florida Water Management District, ``The
scenario is a grim one. We could be talking about bottled water for the
municipalities for a long time.''
One way to gird for the future -- and
protect families who already live here -- would be to impose building
moratoriums in those counties where the water shortage is most acute.
This is way too simple and sensible.
Moratoriums can't be enacted unless local leaders are willing to stand up to
developers, a rare occurrence indeed. The state is requiring counties to
recycle water for nonpotable uses, but that doesn't
curb the liquid appetite of sprawl.
It's lunacy to continue carving out
subdivisions and erecting high-rises when the wells are drying up, but that's
the plan: Keep Florida growing, no matter what. Once the rainy season begins,
everything's gonna be fine, right?
Wrong. The state was soaked by
hurricanes and tropical waves during 2004 and 2005, yet where's all that water
now?
As we all know, newcomers aren't easily
spooked away from
That's the same as adding two more
cities, each the size of
According to the
Don't let anybody tell you this is good
news, unless you yearn for more taxes, higher insurance rates and water bills
as hefty as your car payment. That's the future, and it's not so far off.
Encroaching saltwater
Rains will come this summer, as they
always do, providing temporary cover for politicians who don't want to confront
the water crisis. Experts say it could take years of heavier-than-normal
precipitation to restore safe levels in
Shortages will hit some communities
sooner, and harder, than others. Eventually, state water managers will be
forced to take action on a bolder scale than rationing sprinkler use.
Twice as many people are moving here as
are moving out. The net population continues to expand at the dangerous rate of
about 1,000 souls a day, and they'll keep coming until
there's a full-blown water panic.
By then, we'll all be sucking air.
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