What water options do we have for Florida agriculture?

Although completely surrounded by vast amounts of water, the state of Florida has always had extensive water shortage problems, but has carried on with the water supplied by the Floridan Aquifer in Northern Florida and Southern Georgia.

http://fcit.usf.edu/florida/maps/pages/8900/f8936/f8936.htm 

http://www.fractracker.org/2013/06/fla-gas-leg/

WATER SOURCE ONE: 

This aquifer is known for being one of the few that is not depleting nearly as quickly due to the high porosity and permeability of the surrounding stone that allows more water to enter. These factors also mean that water can enter from the ocean sides of the aquifer leading to saltwater intrusion. As soon as saltwater begins to enter the aquifer, the water is no more usable than the water in the Gulf of Mexico. As the sea level continues to rise with climate change and the aquifer's water table slowly falls, the threat of salt water intrusion increases immensely. Florida agriculture will no longer be able to access this great resource.

WATER SOURCE TWO:

If farmers are unable to access their first choice water supply, their second choice would be to use reclaimed water as much of the state does for watering lawns or golf courses. Reclaimed water comes from waste water that is treated extensively in order to make it acceptable for the environment but not for human consumption. Two nutrients not filtered out by waste treatment plants are nitrogen and phosphorus, both effective plant fertilizers. While the additional fertilizer may benefit some crops, the polluted runoff leads to algal blooms, caused by a process called eutrophication, in lakes and in the Gulf of Mexico. Algal blooms extract oxygen and sunlight from the plants underneath, leading to plants and fish dying. With the challenges surrounding reclaimed water use, the costs would greatly outweigh the benefits in terms of the Florida economy.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/edexcel/problems_in_environment/pollutionrev4.shtml 

WATER SOURCE THREE:

If options one and two are eliminated, there is really only one more solution to getting clean usable water for agriculture: reverse osmosis. With the vast amount of saltwater in and around the state of Florida, the theory of filtering saltwater into fresh water seems much simpler than it really is. The plants and the process are costly due to challenges with the filtering process and it takes longer to produce fresh water. The waste output is another question that more research could solve, but without the science to use reverse osmosis effectively and efficiently right now, it cannot benefit Florida agriculture.

After ruling out the three most practical sources of water in Florida, we can see that something needs to be done to prevent the water shortage from becoming any worse of a problem. On a large scale, the most practical solution would be to use genetically modified crops that require less water overall, but in reality, the fight for or against GMOs is a complicated social and political issue. If agriculture in Florida is going to continue producing as it has been, we will need to invest more in research on how to use less water for farming and where to obtain more water in the future.

Sources:

http://fl.water.usgs.gov/PDF_files/wri92_4174_spechler.pdf

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ae479

https://www.everpure.com/products/Pages/UnderstandingROS.aspx