The water cycle is an important component of managing and protecting South Florida’s water resources. This continuous cycle of water brings us rain, recharges our aquifers, and helps fill our lakes, rivers and other bodies of water.
DID YOU KNOW: The South Florida Water Management District (District) closely monitors the water cycle as part of its public service mission to safeguard and restore South Florida's water resources and ecosystems, protect our communities from flooding, and meet the region's water needs.
MANAGING EVERY DROP: The District works year-round to manage every drop of water that moves through the regional system of canals, natural areas, levees and water control structures. When it rains in South Florida, that water circles through our communities, flowing from the land into ponds, lakes, canals, and other waterbodies.
UNDERSTANDING THE WATER CYCLE: Water is constantly moving through our ecosystem, cycling between the land and air that’s on, above or below the Earth’s surface. Here is a breakdown of the many stops a single drop of water makes as it travels through the water cycle.
🌧️ Precipitation falls from clouds to the earth as rain. An average of 53 inches of rain falls on South Florida each year.
💧 The excess water, called runoff, flows from land into ponds, lakes or canals. In South Florida, the water also flows into wetlands, marshes or estuaries and into the Atlantic Ocean or the Gulf of America.
🌎 Some rainfall slowly seeps, or percolates, into the ground to recharge, or refill, the underground layers of sand, gravel or rock.
☀️ The sun heats up the Earth’s surface, causing water to turn into vapor as it evaporates. Plants release water through transpiration. Together, all the water rising into the air is called evapotranspiration.
⛅ Water vapor continues to rise until it reaches cooler air, where it condenses into very small droplets or ice crystals, forming clouds.
🌧️ When droplets in clouds grow large enough, they fall to the ground as precipitation, continuing the water cycle.
A CLOSER LOOK: We encourage you to visit SFWMD.gov/FloodControl to learn more about the District’s year-round operation of the regional water management system and what happens when it rains in your neighborhood.