Did you know Florida contains more than 30,000 lakes? Combined, they make up more than three million acres. The lakes, streams, and rivers in Florida are homes to many species of fish and wildlife. There are over four million fishing licenses registered in the state of Florida. Additionally, Florida is also well known for water sports such as canoeing, kayaking, sailing, and swimming as well as watching the sun rise and set over the water.
As of January 1, 2022, the Census Bureau data showed the U.S. population was 332,403,650. For Florida, the state’s population currently this year has grown more than two hundred thousand reaching over 21.7 million. Florida continues to see over three hundred thousand new residents yearly that will undoubtedly push Florida’s population well over 22 million by end of this calendar year.
Why share these statistics? Clearly with all this continued population growth, Florida construction and development will also continue to grow. This new development and expansion will put a tremendous strain on our precious state’s ecosystem and create stress on water quality.
Water pollution is one of the top concerns for our sustainability. Approximately 40% of the lakes in America are still too polluted for fishing, aquatic life, or swimming. Each year 1.2 trillion gallons of untreated sewage, stormwater, and industrial waste are dumped into US water.
Stormwater runoff pollution is a type of non-point source pollution. This means that the pollution cannot be traced back to a specific source, but instead comes from many diverse sources throughout the environment. Non-point source pollution is the primary cause of watershed pollution today.
The abundance of construction taking place each year will continue to create a dynamic pattern of contaminated stormwater runoff. New development and infrastructure growth increases the number of impermeable surfaces, introducing an increase in stormwater runoff flows over contaminated areas.
Stormwater runoff carries many types of contaminants once exposed to construction development activities. Once this takes place, these pollutants can get transferred to the various inlets and outfalls that lead to receiving waters if not proper erosion and sediment control Best Management Practices (BMPs) are put in place.
KCI understands how hard it is to focus on the business yet also need to ensure you are doing the right efforts to support the environment. Consult KCI by engaging one of our expert stormwater inspectors who can evaluate your current requirements and provide helpful tips that specifically fit the needs of your site. Give us a call at (888) 346-7779.
