Flooded farms

The Dec. 11 article Heavy rain, aging flood system leave South Florida farmlands swamped generated little sympathy from me.

For decades, the South Florida Water Management District and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have neglected Everglades National Park for the benefit of the farming community.

In times of flooding, they have directed millions of gallons of polluted (nutrient-loaded) water into Florida Bay. As a result, the bay is on the verge of complete destruction. Finally, under pressure from environmentalists, the government agencies are working to deliver more clean, fresh water to the ’Glades.

In times of little rainfall the farmers pump still more millions of gallons of water from our quickly depleting fresh water aquifer to water their fields. And the Everglades suffers again.

I say let the fields flood in the rare late season rainfall. It happens infrequently, once every decade or so. The farmers in Immokalee and Belle Glade will more than make up for the agricultural loss in South Florida.

This story was originally published December 15, 2015 at 10:24 PM with the headline "Flooded farms."