Introduction
In the following paper, I have my purpose to discuss the issues related to the Kissimmee watershed in Orange County, Florida. The major inhabited localities served by the watershed are Orlando, St. Cloud, Kissimmee, Sebring, Lake Placid, Venus, Palmdale Lake Wales, Avon Park, and the Seminole Brighton Indian Reservation. Generally, the Kissimmee watershed has no momentous environmental problems; however, it does face certain difficulties in that area resulting from canalizing the Kissimmee River realized in the 1940s.
Main body
The Kissimmee Watershed is controlled by the following government agencies: US Army Corps of Engineers, the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, Water Management Districts, US Fish & Wildlife Service, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the Citizens of Florida. These agencies exercise their control over the use of water resources, their distribution and protective measures in order to guarantee good quality of water delivered to the consumers.
When it comes to the watershed pollution threats including discharge permits issued, it is evident that there exist certain problems in this area. The main reason of these problems is the canalization of the Kissimmee River which was organized after the serious floods in the 1940s by the US government. Despite the fact that the government was guided by good intentions the results of this canalization appeared to be sad: there occurred drastic transformations in the ecosystem and wildlife. Thus, there exist certain problems with the quality of water in the river (Cunningham 59). The most significant of these problems are connected to the excess of the grade of concentration of Chlorophyll-A, Fecal Coliform, Dissolved Oxygen, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Copper, Mercury and Benthic Macroinvertebrates Bioassessments. However, regular measures are exercised in order to diminish and cut this harm to a minimum. The other reason for such pollution problems is in the expansion of agriculture and the use of harmful chemical joints in it.
Speaking about the citizen-based groups at work in this watershed, it should be mentioned that they are many. They include the Okeechobee Soil and Water Conservation District, United Waterfowlers – Florida, Inc., Polk County Natural Resources, City Of Orlando – Florida Lake watch, Lake Okeechobee Lakewatch Rainfall Monitoring Program, Highlands County Lakes Association, Evergladesvillage.Net, Eagle Eye Incorporated – Walker Memorial Junior Academy, Adopt-A-Lake, Friends of the Wekiva Inc, and South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Task Force. I shall address two of the above-mentioned groups: Okeechobee Soil and Water Conservation District and United Waterfowlers – Florida, Inc. The Okeechobee Soil and Water Conservation District is a citizen-based group at work in the Kissimmee watershed. The group’s purpose is to monitor the action of volunteers at work in the watershed. In addition, they make investigations and assessments of grazing technologies aimed to control the quality of water. The United Waterfowlers – Florida is a volunteer organization having its purpose to perform actions and implement varied projects to conserve and restore the water quality in the watershed. The rest of the above-mentioned groups have similar purposes and working strategies in their activity.
Conclusion
Concluding on all the information mentioned above, it should be stated that the Kissimmee watershed has certain problems in the quality of water running in it and its pollution; however regular and successful measures are taken by the governmental and non-governmental organizations in order to cut those problems to a minimum.
Works Cited
Cunningham, William, and Mary Ann Cunningham. Environmental Science: A Global Concern. United States: McGraw-Hill Science/Engineering/Math, 2007. Print.