Bad for Our Water
Many Florida waters are already on the verge of collapse from pollution and overpumping. The proposed new toll roads and coinciding development will add pollution sources and increased demand on already dwindling freshwater supplies. The proposed Northern Turnpike Extension will cut through the watersheds of some of Florida’s most treasured springs.
Across Florida we are already seeing the impacts of overdevelopment, sprawl, and unscrupulous business interests. Our springs and coasts are polluted to the point of being health threats, communities are running out of freshwater, and cities are being flooded from sea-level rise and extreme weather.
When open land, which naturally cleans water of pollutants and recharges aquifers is consumed by development, those environmental services are lost forever. Poorly planned and misplaced development adds to the nutrient-laden runoff from roads, lawns, and septic tanks. If we continue to needlessly pave rural Florida and replace natural and working lands with strip malls and neighborhoods, we will speed up the decline of Florida’s water resources. Florida cannot afford to repeat the mistakes of the 20th Century if we hope to protect and restore our waters.