Well, I have a feeling that this is an ongoing story that, as the more farmland in Florida becomes populated, the more widespread it will become. You might remember the post I did on sinkholes?
Back when I first moved to Florida I slowly became aware of a HUGE issue here in Florida, an issue that has succeeded in convincing myself and my husband that buying a house here in Florida is NOT the wisest of decisions and that is the problem of sinkholes.
It is so bad in fact, that the county I happen to live in at the moment (the county that my husbands business is located - so unless we are happy with an hour commute for him everyday we also must live in) is virtually uninsurable when it comes to home owners insurance. Ok, let me rephrase that. You CAN get regular home owners insurance on a home for not much more then the national average, BUT you have to buy a sinkhole rider if you want to be protected against this little...nuisance. Most insurance companies won't even offer sinkhole coverage and those that do the prices are unbelievably high.
Ok a bit of a geology lesson here. Florida basically floats on large aquifers. These aquifers need to be fed and replenished when the water drops below acceptable levels. Mother nature in her infinite wisdom, and not to mention just basic principles of physics, compensates for the depletion by opening up sinkholes. These sinkholes range from small depressions in the ground to house swallowing monsters and appear out of no where and eat anything within close proximity of it. The sinkholes occur mostly because the water table in the aquifer has dropped so therefore there is just air between the limestone and the top of the water table. The weight of the earth will collapse in on itself and this in turn is another way to feed the aquifer when it rains. Florida is covered with small lakes many of which were originally sinkholes that through time and sediment have become bodies of water which wild life makes good use of. We have one such lake at the back of our house as I have shown pictures of occasionally on this blog.
Ok, so everyone knows the cold snap that Florida just endured right? We have not broken the 60 degree mark yet in 2010... well not until yesterday that is and there were nights that we were in the teens and twenties.
Yeah yeah so what has this got to do with sinkholes you are asking? Patience I am getting there.
Freezing temps have a huge impact on the water levels of the acquifers but in a round about way and here is how.
Farmers.
Yes farmers. Seems that the farmers in many places of Florida rely on the water in aquifers to water these crops. In normal situations with normal weather that is not a big deal, I guess the water used makes little impact on the aquifers and the rain tends to replenish them quickly so no harm no foul. BUT when the weather is extreme, as has been the case for the last few weeks it has done great harm and a lot of people are crying foul.
For instance, we have a city that is in eastern Hillsborough county ( same county that Tampa is in) that has self proclaimed itself strawberry capitol of the world. Strawberries are very vulnerable to below freezing temps. So the farmers of these crops will water them in order to provide a layer of insulation on the tender plants. The ice that builds on the strawberries keeps them IN MOST CASES at a constant 32 degrees. and the destructive 28-29 degree air cannot get to the plant. At least that is how I understand it. The above image I have included is the tactic that the farmers use to try to save their crops.
Great, more power to the farmer, right? But this has an adverse effect on the aquifers in that it drains more water then normal from them. The last figure I read was that the aquifer is running some 60 feet BELOW normal levels and mostly this has to do with the farmers insulating their crops. Oh and btw it is not just the strawberry farmers doing this. The citrus farmers insulate their crops in this manner as well.
So over the last few days the domino effect has begun. Some 22 new sinkholes have opened up in the area, one is on a major interstate that bisects the state from east to west. While diverting traffic in order for the state to deal with that sinkhole, the road that the traffic was being diverted to is showing signs of forming a sinkhole as well. Houses are being swallowed, land is disappearing. Many of the people who are losing parts of their land and buildings did not have sinkhole coverage.
Sometimes I think that Florida is just going to sink into the sea.
So thanks farmers. I dunno if I was a homeowner that this was happening too, I think rather then having strawberries on the table come summertime I would rather keep my house.
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