What Goes Around, Comes Around

It can rain a lot in Florida (55 - 60 inches a year on average), with about two-thirds of that coming in the wet/rainy season. When rain falls, south Florida landscapes are designed to channel excess stormwater into lakes and communities' stormwater collection systems. Along the way, it picks up all kinds of pollutants: including fertilizers and pesticides from lawns and yards as well as oils and coolant spilled from roadways and cars. Eventually, that stormwater runoff flows into lakes, rivers and wetlands, and makes its way more gradually to the aquifers that supply our drinking water.

The "First Flush" concept is important to understand when talking about the effects of stormwater on water quality. The "First Flush" is a term used to describe the flushing action stormwater has on accumulated pollutants from roads, parking lots, driveways, lawns etc. -- the first time it rains. This effect is even stronger the first time it rains after a dry period. That's because the initial stormwater runoff dislodges and removes most of the accumulated pollutants from these surfaces and carries them into lakes, ponds or canals.

Studies in Florida have determined that the first inch of stormwater runoff generally carries 90% of the pollution! This "First Flush" -- especially when it hasn't rained in a while -- creates a "shock loading" of pollutants in the stormwater that gets discharged into drainage systems. Once the first flush of polluted stormwater is washed away, the water quality of stormwater greatly improves.

Imagine all of the pollutants that routinely collect on streets and parking lots. Add to that picture all of the fertilizers, pesticides, and chemicals that are put on green spaces like yards, athletic fields, and urban landscaping.

Now imagine what happens when it rains. All of those pollutants are flushed directly into lakes or through the stormwater drain and canals, and then straight into the Everglades!

• Lower East Coast & Water
• Reservations