Pollution in the Florida Aquifer
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Overall, the majority of Florida's surface waters are of good quality, but problems exist around densely populated urban areas, primarily in central and southern Florida. In rivers, nutrient enrichment, low dissolved oxygen, organic matter, siltation, and habitat alteration degrade water quality. In lakes, the leading problems result from metals and other toxics, ammonia, and nutrients. In estuaries, nutrient enrichment, habitat alteration, and siltation degrade quality. Special state concerns include widespread mercury contamination in fish, bacterial contamination in the Miami River, and algal blooms and extensive die-off of mangroves and sea grasses in Florida Bay.
Data from over 1,900 wells in Florida's ambient monitoring network indicate generally good water quality, but local ground water contamination problems exist. Agricultural chemicals, including aldicarb, alachlor, bromacil, simazine, and ethylene dibromide (EDB) have caused local and regional (in the case of EDB) problems. The Florida DEP has documented more than 400 instances of groundwater contamination from leaking gasoline pipes or storage tanks and found groundwater contamination at 156 hazardous waste sites in the state.
If we could boil all the water we consume, could we eliminate pollution?
No...