What is the problem with the Kissimmee River?

What is the problem with the Kissimmee River?

While the dredging helped with the flooding it had unforeseen environmental consequences. Wading birds declined along the River, waterfowl numbers fell more than 90 percent and Bald Eagle nesting declined by 75 percent. Most scientists condemned the channelization as a major environmental catastrophe.

How was the Kissimmee River fixed?

In the 1960s, the Kissimmee River was channelized by cutting and dredging a 30-feet-deep straightaway through the river’s meanders: the C-38 canal. The Kissimmee River Restoration Project will return flow to 44 miles of the river’s historic channel and restore about 40 square miles of river/floodplain ecosystem.

Where was the Kissimmee River?

Florida

Can you swim in the Kissimmee River?

1 answer. All the major lakes in Kissimmee are fine for swimming but most people don’t swim in them due to the fact that they all have a lot of Alligators in them.

Are there alligators in Lake Kissimmee?

Lake Kissimmee The lake, and state park, is teeming with alligators. Pay a small entrance fee, and head out along the nature trails. You just might find a BIG alligator catching some rays as you go.

What was the major benefit of straightening the Kissimmee River?

They straightened the river in the 1960s into a canal to drain swampland and make way for the state’s explosive growth. It worked — and it created an ecological disaster. So officials decided to restore the river’s slow-flowing, meandering path.

What is the source of the Kissimmee River?

East Lake Tohopekaliga

Is Kissimmee River navigable?

Kissimmee River Is Fully Navigable.

What is the most serious problem of Lake Okeechobee?

However, there was one major problem: Lake Okeechobee’s water is high in nutrients and other contaminants, and has been causing harmful algal blooms, fish kills and other related problems all the way to the coast on both sides of the state.

What’s wrong with Florida’s water?

The most common and widespread contaminants in Florida are bacteria, nitrates and lead. Other chemicals like ethylene dibromide (EDB), tetrachlorethylene (PCE) and temik have also been found in isolated areas. Contaminated drinking water can cause a number of diseases, and is sometimes fatal to vulnerable people.

What would happen if Lake Okeechobee dike breaks?

But at high water levels, the dike remains a high-risk hazard for potentially devastating flooding. A major failure could send torrents through lakeside towns and muddy water to the suburban outskirts of Palm Beach County.

Does Lake Okeechobee have a lot of alligators?

“They [gators] are abundant,” said Campbell, 33. With an estimated population of 12,925 gators, Jesup ranks second to mammoth Lake Okeechobee (28,106) for the number of alligators in a state lake. But while Okeechobee has more than twice the number of gators as Jesup, it’s also 28 times larger.