Florida's Water A Fragile Resource in a Vulnerable State

About this book

Florida's Water poses fundamental questions about water sustainability in the United States' fourth largest state. Florida has long-standing water quality problems. Global climate change threatens to intensify Florida's floods and droughts, make hurricanes more common or more damaging, and eventually submerge much of low-lying Florida, including the Everglades. How can Florida meet these extraordinary challenges? And what lessons does the Florida experience hold for other states? This book fully integrates the many diverse responsibilities of water management into a readable and compelling combination of interesting narratives and deep analysis. Author Tom Swihart's unique, intimate knowledge of Florida's successes and failures in water management brings out both the novelty of Florida's water situation and the features that it has in common with other states.

Contents

Florida's Water: A Fragile Resource in a Vulnerable State Tom Swihart About the Author Contents Preface Acknowledgments Notes about Common References Introduction Part I The Framework of Water Management 1. The Watery Foundation 2. Origins of the Modern Water Management System 3. The Responsibilities of Water Management Part II "Celebrating Diversity": Five Philosophies for Five Water Management Districts 4. Five Philosophies for Five Water Management Districts? 5. Suwannee River: God Made It and Gravity Runs It 6. Northwest Florida: The Forgotten District 7. Southwest Florida: A Truce in the "Water Wars" 8. St. Johns River: Reaching the Limits of Water Supply? 9. South Florida: Managing Nature Part III The Issues 10. Water Supply Is Easy 11. Saving the Water 12. Charge a Few Nickels for Water 13. Farming the Water 14. Turning Up the Thermostat in Paradise Part IV The Water Future 15. Will Florida Get the Water Future Right? Appendices Appendix 1: Milestones of Florida Water Management Appendix 2: Water Congress Recommendations (2008) Appendix 3: Abbreviations and Acronyms Appendix 4: Glossary

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Biography

Tom Swihart is the former head (administrator) of the Office of Water Policy in the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. He has Master's in Urban and Regional Planning from Florida State University