Less phosphorus in the Everglades

Farmers in south Florida have reduced the amount of phosphorus from the Everglades Agricultural Area by 18 percent, according to the South Florida Water Management District. Working with the district, landowners have started using "best management practices" within the 500,000-acre farming region south of Lake Okeechobee.


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From the district:

A life-essential nutrient, phosphorus is a common ingredient in fertilizer and in the Everglades Agricultural Area’s muck soils. When carried in stormwater runoff, however, excess phosphorus can impact the Everglades ecosystem to the south.

The BMP program mandated by Florida’s Everglades Forever Act stipulates that the amount of phosphorus leaving the Everglades Agricultural Area must be reduced by 25 percent in at least one year out of each consecutive three-year period.

For more information, visit Everglades Now.