Politicians, environmentalists, business leaders and residents all have their ideas. But before some of the more complex issues of water use in Florida can be explored, it helps to understand some of the basic principles about the state's water supply. Therefore, we begin our series with the science of water in Florida. From the moment we wake up, we depend on it without really thinking about it. And, if it weren't for the evening news or those notices we get from our utilities, many of us wouldn't even know there's a shortage.
Water then infiltrates the soil and flows to the ocean as runoff.
Here in Florida, that rainfall infiltrates the soil and, in many places, keeps on going. Dr. Mark Stewart is a hyrdogeologist and a professor at the University of South Florida Department of Geology. What happens is the rain falls on that flat, sandy surface soil that we have in Florida, infiltrates into the ground and leaks down to the underlying limestone which is the principal source of water for much of Florida, particularly central Florida and the west-central area. The system from which the Bay Area draws its water is called the Floridan Aquifer. We can't see the aquifer directly.