Pollution in the Florida Keys is a big issue, especially in the water. Sources of pollution include land based runoff, atmospheric sources, boat charges or spills, and human waste.
One major source of pollution in the Florida Keys is caused by the deposit of human waste into the Florida Keys water environment. Water treatment centers dump human waste in the keys because it is suppose to naturally filter the pollutants, but so far that hasn’t happened. The problem is that in order for the natural filter to work, you need at least two feet of soil to filter the pollutants, but the Keys are made up of limestone as a substrate. Travel time for the wastewater to enter back into the environment is supposed to be around a hundred days but in the Keys it is a matter of hours. So raw and untreated sewage is going directly back into the surrounding environment without being effectively
filtered.
Nitrogen runoff is particularly harmful and is devastating to coral reefs. The pollution harms the reefs by shading them, making it so that they can not photosynthesize. Pollution can also trigger coral bleaching, which is when the corals take on a bleached-like appearance from lack of chlorophyll. If pollution like this continues, it will cause long term effects on coral reefs and other inhabitants of the Florida Keys waters.
Atmospheric pollution puts 2.4 billion pounds of chemicals per annum from U.S Industries, and large amounts end up in the marine environment including the Keys. Boat's maintenance, spills collisions, and damping add to the pollution by releasing oil and other harmful chemicals into the environment.
The Florida Key's water environment has taken its toll from these pollutants and its time we make a change.
One major source of pollution in the Florida Keys is caused by the deposit of human waste into the Florida Keys water environment. Water treatment centers dump human waste in the keys because it is suppose to naturally filter the pollutants, but so far that hasn’t happened. The problem is that in order for the natural filter to work, you need at least two feet of soil to filter the pollutants, but the Keys are made up of limestone as a substrate. Travel time for the wastewater to enter back into the environment is supposed to be around a hundred days but in the Keys it is a matter of hours. So raw and untreated sewage is going directly back into the surrounding environment without being effectively
filtered.
Nitrogen runoff is particularly harmful and is devastating to coral reefs. The pollution harms the reefs by shading them, making it so that they can not photosynthesize. Pollution can also trigger coral bleaching, which is when the corals take on a bleached-like appearance from lack of chlorophyll. If pollution like this continues, it will cause long term effects on coral reefs and other inhabitants of the Florida Keys waters.
Atmospheric pollution puts 2.4 billion pounds of chemicals per annum from U.S Industries, and large amounts end up in the marine environment including the Keys. Boat's maintenance, spills collisions, and damping add to the pollution by releasing oil and other harmful chemicals into the environment.
The Florida Key's water environment has taken its toll from these pollutants and its time we make a change.