8.01 Research Assignment: Your Local Watershed

Student’s Name
Course
Tutor
Date
Local Watershed: Everglades
There exist several watersheds downstream into which Everglades watershed drains into. Vero Beach is the major recipient water body below Everglades. On the other hand, the Big Cypress Swamp is the main water body that supplies the Everglades watershed (EPA, n.d)
As a result of dynamic influences associated with human activities, such as agriculture and industrial waste disposal, Everglades has constantly been subjected to a significant level of pollution. According to statistical analysis, some of the major pollutants include; Mercury, Fecal Coliform, Nitrogenous composites, Total Suspended Solids (TSS), Phosphorus, Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), Turbidity and faecal matter. They also include Alkalinity, Carbonate as CaCO3, Trophic State Index (TSI), Chlorophyll-A, Copper as well as organic mercury deposits found within the living cells and tissues of fish and also in other biological contexts of aquatic life forms (Lu et al., 2003).
Everglades is a unique natural resource whose benefits have been realized across eleven counties. These counties include Broward, Indian River, Collier, Monroe, Palm Beach, Hendry, Dade, Glades, Okeechobee, St. Lucia and Martin counties are considered inherent part of the Everglades watershed (Lu et al., 2003)
The FWF presents one of the most proactive groups that, for many years, has played a significant role in the Everglades’ restoration practices. The group has been working in collaboration with a variety of world’s wetland ecosystems conservation organizations.

One of the major objectives of the group is to establish clean water flows through strategic water purification processes. The group also aims to eliminate some of the exotic species that proves harmful to Everglades Ecosystem. Moreover, the group creates public awareness on how to protect and preserve this unique natural resource (Lu et al., 2003). The group has established an interactive website through which interested parties in their programs can establish direct contact with the management or concerned authorities.
Works Cited
EPA (2017). Watershed Quality Assessment Report: Available at https://iaspub.epa.gov/tmdl_ waters10/attains_watershed.control?p_huc=03090202&p_cycle=&p_report_type=T#assessment_data
Lu, X. Q., et al. “Molecular characterization of dissolved organic matter in freshwater wetlands of the Florida Everglades.” Water Research 37.11 (2003): 2599-2606.