A typical drainage canal in southwest Florida, USA
The construction of canals and drainage networks can lead to saltwater intrusion. Canals provide conduits for saltwater to be carried inland, as does the deepening of existing channels for navigation purposes.[2][8] In Sabine Lake Estuary in the Gulf of Mexico, large-scale waterways have allowed saltwater to move into the lake, and upstream into the rivers feeding the lake. Additionally, channel dredging in the surrounding wetlands to facilitate oil and gas drilling has caused land subsidence, further promoting inland saltwater movement.[9] Drainage networks constructed to drain flat coastal areas can lead to intrusion by lowering the freshwater table, reducing the water pressure exerted by the freshwater column. Saltwater intrusion in southeast Florida has occurred largely as a result of drainage canals built between 1903 into the 1980s to drain the Everglades for agricultural and urban development. The main cause of intrusion was the lowering of the water table, though the canals also conveyed seawater inland until the construction of water control gates
Size: 5472px × 3648px
Location: USA Florida
Photo credit: © gary corbett / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: canal, channel, control, dam, dams, dike, ditch, drainage, dyke, flood, florida, fresh, freshwater, gate, hurricane, structure, usa, water
