Flood control: nature bats last ... by gimleteye

Most South Floridians don't know how close our situation is, to the Great Flood in the Mississippi River. The same agency-- the US Army Corps of Engineers-- that has played the key role in sacrificing one part of the Delta in order to save New Orleans is in charge of similar decisions in South Florida through the operation of the most complicated flood control system in the United States. Here the sacrifice has always been: drain the Everglades so more people can live in historic wetlands.

Restoring the Everglades will consume nearly $20 billion, largely to rework flood control features never meant to protect the Everglades. They were designed to drain them. The purpose of draining was not even to protect communities and private property: it was to create more private property in order to create more demand for flood control. It is a subtle point. Speculators gained control of Florida by draining swampland, but government failed to protect natural resources because its power derived from creating more demand for its services.

It is the story of the 8.5 Square Mile Area, of Weston, and of Sunset Lakes in Broward. It is the story of the Fanjul billionaires agitating for more rock mines and inland ports and power plants in the Everglades. Other cities are in wetlands that once flooded regularly: Hialeah and Sweetwater where the natural flow of the Everglades once was very sweet. The deepest water in the Everglades was where Miami International Airport is located. Seen another way, draining the lands for the airport ensured the surrounding areas would be less susceptible to flooding. So we drive down LeJeune or Tamiami Trail or US 27 without ever thinking of getting wet.

Except for the coastal ridge, there is no part of South Florida that is immune to flooding. A wet, major hurricane will remind Floridians as the Great Flood has in Mississippi: nature bats last.