Or it can go into the ground - preferably deep into the ground to recharge the Floridan aquifer system, which has been collecting water for millions of years. Less water from the sky means less water pooling underground. Drought is thought by some to have caused migrations of early humans. The aquifer is where most of the state's nearly 16 million people stick their straws when they want a drink. Folks in South Florida depend more on surface water sources.
Development affects both aboveground and underground water supplies and makes a bad situation worse.
The book details the environmental consequences of development in St. Petersburg between 1900 and 1995. Our environmental legislation grew out of the state's experiences during the last drought, the one in the late '70s, he said. The lesson there was that draining wetlands, which frequently happens when Florida land is developed, has an adverse effect on the water supply. The little raindrop that falls in a subdivision is more likely to become runoff.