Drainage--Florida--Everglades

During the Progressive Era, technical experts--state and independent engineers, United States Department of Agriculture scientists, and United States engineers increasingly influenced drainage and reclamation policy in central and southern Florida. Engineers agreed with the general method of drainage but at times disagreed over engineering specifics. The federal, state and local govemments were aware of the benefits associated with internal improvements, at the same time, however, they frequently fought over their control. Between the mid-nineteenth century and the early 1900s, drainage engineering knowledge and technology increased along with the role of the engineers. As a result, Florida's Progressive Governor Napoleon Bonaparte Broward began a state-financed and state-managed effort to drain and reclaim the Everglades in 1905. The role of the state engineer, however, differed from the expert described by historian Robert H. Wiebe, in that the engineer was not an independent policy-maker. The state engineer was always subordinate to the Florida Legislature and the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Fund, including the Governor of Florida.

Drainage waters leaving the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) have been implicated as having adverse effects on the receiving Water Conservation Areas (WCAs) and Everglades National Park (ENP). The objectives were to quantify and describe the rainfall and drainage events, characterize their effects on the water table system, and determine any relationships between the open channel drainage system and the field water tables on farms in the EAA. Water table rise in the soil profile from rainfall averaged a ratio of 10.6:1. Traditional expectations of field drainage behavior to channel gradients were not apparent. Field observation well drainage rates showed no direct relationships to distances across the farm or to the main station pumping rate. Due to the similar field water table responses under varying drainage scenarios, the organic soil, open channels, and the underlying geology were determined to function as an integrated system with respect to the movement of water.