{The final|The very last|The past} seven decades of phosphate strip-mining seriously scared the central Florida landscape. {1|A single|One particular} can see West Central Florida's environmentally unique {scenery is|panorama is|surroundings is} under attack by Florida's phosphate industry {representatives|officers|administrators} for the phosphate ore it holds. {During the past|In past times|Before} {70|60 to 70|85} years, the phosphate industry in West Port {fruit|lemon|orange colored} fl has strip-mined for phosphate ore in (1) Hillsborough, Polk, Hardee, and Charlotte counties. The land is stripped some {35|40|31} to 50 feet in depth over 4000 non-contiguous square miles which include all phosphate {functions|businesses} in Florida as {an entire|a total|a full}. {That may be|That is certainly} one big {opening|gap|pit}. Meaning, the phosphate industry owns more land in port orange fl than the total land mass in the great {Condition|Express|Point out} of Rhode Island.
{Pointless|Unnecessary|Useless} to say, the phosphate industry in Florida {regulates|handles|manages} the lion's share of property in West Central Florida, including unique environments of national significance. {The home|The house|The exact property} owned by the phosphate industry includes the {nutrient|vitamin|drinking} rights as well. {Nevertheless ,|Yet ,} natural freshwater resource legal rights (riparian resources) are {cured|cared for|remedied} differently than mineral {legal rights|privileges|protection under the law} by Florida law. Riparian waterways traversing industry property {are certainly not|aren't|are generally not} owned by the phosphate industry, they are held by the {condition|express|point out} of Florida in this case, and are considered public waterways. {In the event the|In case the} riparian waterways are public rivers, then how is the phosphate industry consuming {great|enormous amounts|millions} of gallons of fresh aquifer water for free?
Historically, phosphate mining and reclamation of existing extracted lands alter the {time|moment} and magnitude of surface water runoff, surface {drinking water|normal water} storage, recharge, and evaporation. All of these factors contribute to changes in landscape hydrology and ecology within the Peace {Water|Lake|Riv} basin (3). All the relevant environmental variables change for the worst when collecting data from gotten back mined lands.
In gotten back mined lands, rainwater no longer seeps through the landscape as before {burning|draining} the land because the soils are now {loaded|jam-packed|crammed} tightly, (2) so {drinking water|normal water} just runs off {rather than} soaking into the {scenery|panorama|surroundings}. Water storage is then {afflicted|damaged} because water can no longer drain down into the aquifers, so the aquifer system levels decrease as well. The natural recharge rate for the aquifers is {slowed down|stunted|retarded} or stopped completely.
{Once|When ever|The moment} the water cannot {leak|drain|run} down into the water supplies, fresh drinking water is adversely {afflicted|damaged} as well, because the filtering, "percolation" of rainwater through the earthen materials cleans the water. Percolation is a critical natural process. Percolation is altered or completely disrupted in reclaimed extracted lands. So when the rainwater "percolation" is {disrupted|cut off|disturbed}, all freshwater resources in the area decline, {creating|triggering} habitat destruction and aquifer formation destruction.
One such case played out in Hornsby Springs, north of Gainesville, Florida. Florida's phosphate officials demanded {a lot|a great deal|a whole lot} {drinking water|normal water} from local aquifer and springs, the spring {halted|ceased|ended} flowing and cost over one million dollars of taxpayer dollars trying to repair environmentally friendly {harm|destruction} without success. The {planting season was|spring and coil was|originate was} about 80 {ft|foot|toes} {thorough|detailed|comprehensive}. Once the {planting season|spring and coil|originate} failed, almost 50, {500|1000} visitors 12 months {halted|ceased|ended} coming because precisely what is left of the spring is now {contaminated|infected|toxified}.. Again {you can|one can possibly|anybody can} see the socioeconomic fabric being "stripped" from the public {without the} financial responsibility by the industry that caused the environmental impact to {commence|get started} with.
Another example of the phosphate industries severe environmental impacts is Kissengen Springs in Polk {Region|State|Local}, Florida. Investigation results found that the phosphate industry was to blame because they over pumped the aquifers. The spring {circulation|movement|stream} volume before the phosphate industry interfered was about 30 million gallons a day of clean, clear fresh aquifer water. {Once more|Yet again|Again} the phosphate industry {do|performed|would} nothing to {cure|solution} this severe environmental impact they caused and the {site visitors|guests|tourists} stopped coming so the local economy failed as well.
Why would the state of Florida {enable|allow|grant} the phosphate industry to remove Florida's riparian (public water) waterways? Waterways such as rivers, streams, {suspension springs|suspension systems|spring suspensions}, aquifers, wetlands, and {drinking water|normal water} tables are completely removed from {the face area|the facial skin|the eye} of the earth. Florida's phosphate industry officials cause severe environmental damage without paying {out of pocket|money}, including bankrupting entire {cities|villages|neighborhoods} in its unending {security|guarantee|assets} damage for phosphate to fertilizer production.
