Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
At the time of the writing of this topic, the nuclear disaster is still not under control. Due to the damaged in-
struments and the danger of entering the reactors, it is not yet known what is actually happening inside and if
nuclear fuel is leaking out of the core. Radiation levels are being monitored throughout the entire country and
globally to ensure radiation is not increasing to harmful levels in both the atmosphere and ocean. Residents
have been evacuated within a 12-mile radius of the nuclear plant. Because there is still so much unknown
about this disaster and the seismic activity in the region near Japan continues, the short-term and long-term
consequences and impacts on ecosystems, human health, and the economy are still unknown.
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina was one of the deadliest hurricanes in U.S. history, and one of the costliest. At least 1,836
people died in the hurricane and the resulting floods, and total property damage is estimated at $81 billion. The
Category 3 storm made landfall on the morning of August 29, 2005, in southeast Louisiana, causing damage
from central Florida to Texas. The worst-hit area was between New Orleans, Louisiana, and Biloxi, Missis-
sippi. Most life was lost in New Orleans, which flooded as the levee system failed and waters from Lake
Pontchartrain combined with the waters from the storm, flooding 80 percent of the city and most of the local
parishes.
Hurricane Katrina also had a profound effect on the environment. The storm surge caused substantial beach
erosion, and several barrier islands were moved closer to the coastline. The Chandeleur Islands region was
damaged the year before by Hurricane Ivan and was completely eliminated by Hurricane Katrina and Hur-
ricane Rita. The lands that were lost were breeding grounds for marine mammals, birds, turtles, and fish. Over
20 percent of local marshlands were permanently covered with water from the storm. Breton National Wildlife
Refuge lost half its area in the storm. This was vital habitat for several sea turtle species, the Mississippi sand
hill crane, red-cockaded woodpecker, and the Alabama beach mouse.
The marshlands along much of the Gulf coast had been filled in for use as farmland and for the construction of
towns and cities. Previously, the natural marshlands helped provide a natural protection for the coastline by ab-
sorbing much of the energy from hurricanes. But with the marshlands filled in, hurricanes can travel further in-
land where they can create more damage.
Kissimmee River Dredging
The Kissimmee River originally stretched 103 miles between Lake Kissimmee and Lake Okeechobee. The
river is a major drainage system for the Florida Everglades ecosystem. During the 1947 hurricane season, two
major hurricanes produced heavy rain and flooding in most of central and southern Florida. Florida requested
assistance in controlling future floods and, in 1954, the U.S. Congress authorized the canalization of the river.
From 1962 to 1970, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredged a straight canal down the length of the twisting
Kissimmee Valley, shortening the 103-mile distance between the two lakes to 56 miles.
The project damaged the river and surrounding lands, including parts of the Everglades. The fast-moving water
sped the process of draining the surrounding land, which dried faster than rains replaced the water. As a result,
40,000 acres of floodplain below Lake Kissimmee dried out, reducing waterfowl habitats by 90 percent, and
reducing the number of herons, egrets, and wood storks by two-thirds. Largemouth bass populations also de-
clined. Prior to the channelization, the Kissimmee was not a major source of pollution to Lake Okeechobee.
But without the winding distance and slow flow, surrounding lands were not able to effectively filter river wa-
ter. In the 1970s, the straightened river contributed 25 percent of the nitrogen and 20 percent of the phosphate
of the lake's pollutants.
Search WWH ::




Custom Search