Germ of an Idea - A Modern-Day "Roman" Aqueduct For Florida

The west coast of Florida remains trapped in anput to good use.
ongoing drought. In Pinellas and Hillsborough CountiesIn passing, we acknowledge that the flow of a
(Tampa and St. Petersburg/Clearwater) severecertain amount of river water into the Gulf is said to
restrictions on water use are in place. Even the usebe necessary for the health of the shellfish beds near
of reclaimed water for lawns and gardens is nowthe coastline.
restricted. The rainy season is not yet here; but inEven so, it seems inadmissible to stand by and do
past years the amount of rainfall received during thenothing but watch a surfeit of water in the northern
wet months was far below the historical average, socounties lay waste and then go to waste while there
that reservoirs and ground water supplies have neveris such a great need for water in other areas of the
had a chance to recover.State. Surely there is a partial remedy which might
The situation is quite different in northern Florida, inameliorate the problems in the affected sections.
the Panhandle and all across the State close to theThe Romans found a way to move big volumes of
Georgia border. The weather in those parts of thewater over considerable distances. Surely we can
State is generally wetter, and more consistently so,build on their success - and on successes over the
than the weather farther south.centuries since that time - by constructing an
Yesterday, our local St. Petersburg Times carried aAqueduct system to bring excess water from the
story (with photographs) of the damage which isnorthern Florida counties to drier areas to the south.
now being inflicted in Madison County (which bordersThe best part is that the right-of-way is already in
Georgia) by floodwaters from the Withlacoochee andplace! It's called Interstate 10 and Interstate 75. Take
Suwannee Rivers. The storms which produced thea peek at a map of Florida. Find the intersection of
rain moved from west to east across the PanhandleI-10 and I-75. The Suwannee and Withlacoochee
over the past week, to the point at which theRivers are close by, as are other rivers. There are
Withlacoochee crested at 89 feet, four feet aboveothers to the west, and I-10 probably crosses every
the record set in 1948. So far, the rising floodwatersone of them.
have destroyed or caused severe damage to almostExcess water could be fed into the Aqueduct lying
200 homes and lesser damage to 500 more, all areasabove-ground or underground in the median of I-10
combined. Two people are known dead, and oneat various points along its route, and then fed south
person is missing.toward Tampa and St. Petersburg/Clearwater in that
Quite apart from the possibility of reducing the tallypart of the Aqueduct lying within the median of I-75
of deaths, personal injury, and property damageand I-275. Do you see how obvious that is?
which even a partial remedy for river flooding inIf ever there was a perfectly-planned right-of-way
these areas might entail, it boggles the mind just tofor a particular purpose, although not part of the
consider the sheer waste of so much fresh water.design at the outset, this is it.
Most of that damaging flood water will be goneThere would be hurdles. There always are. Will and
forever as it eventually finds its way to the Gulf ofdetermination were invented for the purpose of
Mexico. That's a shame, because so much of it couldovercoming hurdles.
be put to good use in the west coast, central, andIt seems to me that the construction and operation
other parts of the State where it is so desperatelyof The Florida Aqueduct is an undertaking which
needed. The waste is not just limited to damagingprivate capital should undertake. It need not cost the
flood waters, either. The "top of Florida" is blessedState a penny.
with more rainfall, on average, than it needs.Let's see whether anyone steps up to the plate.
Obviously, the flow of river water into the Gulf.,.,.,.,.,.
represents a volume of water which has not been