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Each year tens of thousands of people move to south Florida, and thousands are born there. Providing the necessary housing, schools, transportation facilities, and related public services for the new residents requires land and other natural resources. The faster the population grows, the greater the strain on the already taxed natural resources.

The ever-increasing population is causing increased stress on the natural resources of the area. 1/ [larger image]

Dade County's broad base of economic activity should continue to stimulate growth in the future. 2/ [larger image]

Urbanization brings a host of interrelated resource problems, such as land development, water supply, waste disposal, flood protection, water management, environmental degradation, and pollution. In south Florida, as in the rest of the country, an increased awareness of the consequences of urbanization is leading to changing concepts of urban planning and resource management, emphasizing conservation and wise use of our natural resources. The rapid growth of the area requires immediate responses and decisions now and will continue to do so. Land use alternatives must be evaluated now if south Florida is to go on being a good place to live.

Dade County’s sunny weather and sandy beaches attract more than 8 million visitors each year, and many become permanent residents. For a long time, income from tourism and from pensions and annuities of retirees accounted for most of the economic base. However, recent expansion of industrial and commercial enterprises into national and international markets has created an income base exceeding that supplied by tourism and retirees.

The large increase in the number of employees of manufacturing firms in the past decade is one indication that the base of economic activity is expanding and broadening. [larger image]

Climate and location are key factors in the rapid commercial and industrial growth. Miami is the gateway to South and Central America, through its seaport facilities and direct airline connections to most of the trade and marketing centers there. Ready access to foreign markets has induced many large firms to locate national and international offices here. Nearly 4,000 small manufacturing firms serve national markets as well as those in the Caribbean islands, the Bahamas, and Latin America. Further, a large air transport maintenance and service industry has developed.

Production of electrical energy increased three-fold between 1960 and 1970. [larger image]

In 1970 all of Dade County used about 275 mgd (million gallons of water each day) from public supplies as well as millions of gallons pumped from private wells. About 230 mgd, from public supplies, was used for household, commercial, and industrial needs, and 45 mgd for irrigation. Nearly all of the irrigation water was used in south Dade County; but only about one-third of the water for other uses. Agricultural use will probably decrease as urban development increases. Much recreational use is made of south Dade's waterways. The significance of such use is best viewed, not in volume of water, but in terms of adequacy to meet projected demands as discussed later.

The ever-increasing demands for water will require increasingly complex water-management systems. [larger image]

Half of the residents of south Dade County are served by sewers, half by septic tanks. Of about 80 mgd of wastewater produced, about 40 mgd is collected by sewers and treated. Of 29 sewage treatment plants, 15 discharge effluent into inland canals, 12 discharge into drainfields, one (the city of Miami's Virginia Key plant) discharges into the ocean, and one employs deep-well injection. The environmental aspects of liquid-waste disposal are discussed later.

In addition to liquid wastes, about 1,000 tons of solid waste are generated each day. At a compacted density of 40 pounds per cubic foot, the daily volume of refuse is 50,000 cubic feet--enough to cover a football field with about a foot a foot of compacted solid waste.

Disposal of ever-increasing amounts of solid wastes will tax the natural resources of the area. [larger image]

Highway transportation is the principle means of access to Dade County, via U.S. Highway 1, Palmetto Expressway, Krome Avenue, and Old Cutler Road. These routes are heavily used, and rush-hour delays are prevalent. Congestion is little relieved by the present mass-transit system, which consists of buses traveling on these congested roads.

Transportation routes have stimulated growth by providing ready access. Additional routes, both proposed and under construction, and a proposed mass transit system will further improve access, which in turn will sustain past trends of rapid urbanization.

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