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Environmentalists Want More Protections For Floridan Aquifer

Photo courtesy the U.S. Geological Survey.
Photo courtesy the U.S. Geological Survey.

Environmentalists are calling for stronger protections for the Floridan Aquifer.

The aquifer is the primary source of drinking water in Central Florida.

The Sierra Club’s Florida chapter filed a petition with the Environmental Protection Agency asking that the aquifer be designated as a Sole Source Aquifer.

Tom Larson of the Sierra Club says that means the aquifer would get greater consideration in planning projects like residential developments and highway construction.

"It's a designation that raises the level of attention that should be in the minds of people who are planning activities of various kinds whether they be industrial, agricultural, residential."

The Floridan Aquifer stretches throughout Florida and into Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama and Mississippi.

The aquifer provides drinking water for 20 million Floridians.

 

Amy Green covered the environment for WMFE until 2023. Her work included the 2020 podcast DRAINED.