For years, neither state nor federal governments did much about the problems of the Everglades. For its part, the federal government has continued to provide agriculture with exemptions from the Clean Water Act. As a result, the industry is the country's largest remaining source of agricultural pollution. The federal government has also provided agriculture with other federal subsidies despite evidence that the destruction of the Everglades was increasing. In addition, the state did little over the years to prevent agricultural pollution and continues to provide the industry with financial incentives, including inexpensive water.
Urban residents pay the rest.
In contrast, farmers pay about 23 cents for the same amount. Nor is urban development any panacea. Despite its greater economic benefit, such development continues to destroy South Florida's native ecosystems and demands ever-greater quantities of increasingly scarce water. Although much remains to be learned, the pollution problem in the Everglades is reasonably well defined. An upper limit for phosphorus of 20 parts per billion has been set, although this amount may still be too high.