Parks, Recreation And Environmental Facilities In Orange County

Introduction: The purpose of this research is to determine whether there has been a change in the overall water quality of the Lake Tarpon Basin, and if so, whether the quality has improved or worsened. The variables that will determine whether the quality has changed are: nutrients (phosphates and nitrates) and dissolved oxygen (DO). The expected changes are lower dissolved oxygen levels (from the already low levels), higher nitrogen levels (from the already high nitrogen levels), and the state qualifications still are not met for nutrients and dissolved oxygen (Levy, Flock, Burnes, Myers, Weed, River 2010). This topic relates to environmental management because the changes in water quality would be due to pollution, which relates to the question “How does human activity lead to the pollution of water stores?” The hypothesis that will be tested is that Lake Tarpon’s water quality will have worsened since the last measurements by Levy, Flock, Burnes, Myers, Weed, and Rivera in 2010.

Nowadays, the most water pollution in Washington States comes from storm-water runoffs. Storm-water discharges are generated by runoff from land and impervious areas such as paved streets, parking lots, and building rooftops. During rainfall and snow events that often contain pollutants in quantities that could adversely affect water quality. Moreover, toxic chemical runoff from storm-water has an impact on organisms and human health. Therefore, this essay will focus on Puget Sound storm-water pollution, how they impact on living organisms, some solution of storm-water pollution, and why do we should care about of Puget

Thesis/Central Idea: Accessibility to clean water is a global issue that can greatly reduced through water filtration, chlorination, and collection grids.

Building additional vegetation areas to create green filters is a solution that will decrease the amount of pollutants in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. This will be effective given the fact that soil has the ability of breaking down nutrients into harmless substances and plants are able to facilitate the process of water infiltrating back into the ground and stopping storm-water runoff. Thus, more green areas will be able to retain and control the amount of pollutants going into the bay.

The Everglades Restoration Plan is the policy to increase the flow of clean water to the Everglades, in an effort to protect the environment, provide for recreational activities, and supply South Florida with a clean supply of potable water. At a cost of more than $10.5 billion and with a 35+ year time-line, this is the largest hydrologic restoration project ever undertaken in the United States. The Federal Government approved Florida’s landmark water quality project that, once constructed, all parties agree will provide the clean water the Everglades need (Scott, 2013). The Everglades restoration has been hampered by decades of futile bickering over how to decide the most rational approach to restoring the flow of water to the Everglades.

The changes in the Everglades’ hydrologic systems have greatly impacted Florida and its environment. Systems have been put into place and adapted in order to best fit the muggy and wet climate of South Florida as well as efficiently clean and revitalize our water quality. Due to the changes that humans have made to the Everglades and our water systems, our surrounding natural habitats and its flora and fauna have been greatly impacted.

Prevention is necessary to control many problems in the Chesapeake Bay. Prevention can range from something as big as a government issue or as small as a single person helping out. The greatest chance at total protection for water quality is when many people and organizations work together to prevent problems. According to the Chesapeake Bay Program, “Federal, state and non-profit Bay Program partners are working with farmers, developers, homeowners and local governments to reduce pollutants from multiple sources and restore water quality for all to enjoy” (Chesapeake Bay Program).

One of the recurring problems at Howard County is the large quantities of stormwater runoff that flow into nearby streams. This is due to meteorological factors and physical characteristics including: land use changes. The more impervious surfaces there are the more surface runoff there will be; thus, placing adverse effects upon the environment. To be exact, these stormwater runoffs carry car oils, fertilizers, pet waste, litter, and sediment to the Chesapeake bay. Hence, 20% of the chesapeake bay’s pollution is due to stormwater runoff. However, not only does storm water contribute to pollution, but it also harms wildlife and its environment, as well as cause floods, erosion, and property damage. To address such issue, Howard Community College

Human Development is the reason why Florida has water-supply problems. In the nineteenth century, the Everglades submerged more than half of Florida’s 36 million acres in clean, fresh water (43). Our water supply problems commenced when the SFWMD and the Army Corps of Engineers began draining and paving over the everglades in the early twentieth century. With concrete covering the ground, the 150 billion gallons of rainfall received has since been unable to filter down into the ground and replenish the aquifer. Instead that rainfall becomes run-off. The run-off does not return into natural watersheds,

Storm water is a great danger to the environment because it does not receive any treatment before entering waterways. A storm can overload the system, causing it to reach its max capacity. The water treatment plant is then forced to let the overflowing, untreated, water dump into the river. This leads to an almost opaque water, like that found in the Puget Sound. There is an average of 900 billion gallons of untreated sewage water entering larger bodies of water each year in the United States (Barnett). The rain that falls on surfaces drains into bodies of water through storm water collection systems, usually, without treatment. There is a strong relationship between concrete thickness and imperviousness in residential areas, leading researchers to believe that roads create impervious surfaces. When rain down the streets and rooftops, it absorbs all the harmful materials from those surfaces and flows into the major bays and the Puget Sound. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates the remodeling of the aging water system would cost between $300 billion to $1 trillion over the next 20 years (Barnett).

Although the amount of pollutants from a single town or construction site may seem insignificant, the combined concentrations of contaminants threaten our lakes, streams and wetlands. When things such as: human and animal waste, decaying plants and animals, discarded litter, or food waste enter surface waters, either dissolved or suspended in stormwater runoff, they can deplete the supply of dissolved oxygen in the water. When dissolved oxygen is reduced below a certain critical level, it can impair or kill aquatic plants and animals (CNYRPDB, 2011).

The St. Johns River is suffering from a significant environmental disaster because of toxic substances from municipal and industrial wastewater, fertilizer runoff, failing septic tanks, and stormwater. Consequently, over 55% of the river miles, 80.4% of acres of large water bodies, 59.4 % of estuaries, and 31.4% of coastline miles do not meet water quality standards in Florida (Florida Department of Environmental Protection 119). For that matter, studying those pollution problems that the river faces is vital since one can use this information to salvage the natural resource which is at the brink of destruction.

The Parks and Recreation Department (“Parks”) seeks direction regarding a staff recommendation to enter into a new lease agreement with the existing lessee, American Tower Corporation, formerly American Tower Systems, Inc., a Real Estate Investment Trust ("REIT") with its principal place of business located at 116 Huntington Ave. 11th Floor, Boston, Massachusetts, 02116 ("American Tower"). American Tower acquired its leasehold interest in an existing telecommunications tower located in Santa Teresa County Park, Coyote Peak by an assignment of the lease in 1997. The Lease expired on July 1, 2016_ and American Tower currently American Tower is a holdover tenant operating at this site on a month to month basis.

The website for the national and state park systems helps to enlighten the public on the subject of impending changes in policy and regulations, as well as new developments in different parks. Due to this, the parks and recreation districts judge that individuals and families will be more agreeable to the idea of traveling to parks in different states because of the easy accessibility of directions and information about the parks. Owing to the latest rise in interest of campgrounds and recreation areas, there has been an increase in funds. This new revenue has made possible the purchase of more parkland throughout the United States. Without prevailing use of the Internet, this most likely would not have been possible. The East Bay Park District has been able to purchase 1,476 of land. This is the single largest acquisition that the Park has made in over twenty years. The York Center Park District been able to purchase and protect a 20-acre area in the last five years. This is the largest area they manage. With the acquisition of supplementary parkland, it is more likely that this land will continue in its natural condition and not be converted into an urbanized region.

The purpose of this report is to propose a solution to the problem of reduced drinking water quality due to chemical pollution. Some bodies of water in the United States are becoming polluted from chemicals and restrictions are needed to protect drinking water quality.