The Southeast Coast (SEC) subregion extends about 100 miles from West Palm Beach to Florida City, encompassing the eastern portions of Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties, and adjacent coastal waters. The SEC is primarily an urban megalopolis, but it also contains substantial agricultural acreage in central Palm Beach and southern Dade counties. The SEC is transected by a multitude of canals which provide flood protection to support urban development and agriculture. Flood protection is provided by maintaining groundwater levels significantly lower what occurred historically and by diverting storm water through the canal system and discharging it to the estuaries. The Southeast Coast Subregion is bordered on the west by Everglades National Park and the Water Conservation Areas and on the east by Biscayne Bay, Biscayne National Park, Lake Worth Lagoon, and the Atlantic Ocean. The outstanding topographic feature of the SEC is the Atlantic Coastal Ridge, a narrow sand and limestone ridge, 2-10 miles wide, that forms a barrier between the Atlantic Ocean and the Everglades Basin.

The SEC is dependent primarily on the shallow Biscayne Aquifer for potable water. This may be the most permeable water-table aquifer in the world. Aquifer recharge is mainly by direct infiltration from rainfall, supplemented by surface from the primary water management canals to supply wellfields and prevent coastal saltwater intrusion.

The SEC is linked to other Sub-regions principally by water. The Biscayne Aquifer is the major water resource for the SEC. Releases from Lake Okeechobee and the Water Conservation Areas via canals and ground water seepage recharge the Biscayne Aquifer and supplement natural recharge from rainfall to prevent saltwater intrusion along the coast. The water supply needs of Lake Okeechobee and areas connected to it via the St. Lucie Canal and the Caloosahatchee River can be affected by these releases to the SEC. Urban and agricultural water supply needs, drainage for flood protection and the associated storm water runoff impact water inflow to ENP, Florida Bay, and Biscayne Bay.

Major ecosystem issues in the SEC include: human population growth and conversion of raw land for development, loss of important agricultural lands; water supply for natural systems and human populations; quantity and quality of freshwater flows to estuaries; quality of groundwater and inland surface water; preservation and restoration of natural areas; loss of habitat; invasive non-indigenous species; sea level rise and its long term effects; and lack of common environmental understanding and perspective. Quality of life and economic sustainability issues are also complex in a society that is built upon and dependent on a fragile ecosystem. To be successful, ecosystem restoration efforts must incorporate the needs of the human population.

The sheer size and continuing expansion of the human population, with its demand for land and water, has permanently altered the South Florida ecosystem. The population is culturally diverse and politically is broken into over one hundred municipalities and two hundred special districts over the three county area. There is a varied sense of collective memory and sense of place as the population shifts over time. Each group views the environment with differing values, demands, and commitment. Development of a public vision that includes environmental quality may be the greatest challenge for Everglades restoration.

As development continues to expand from the coastline west, the cumulative impacts to wetlands, aquifer recharge and lowering of the ground water table are more evident. The water table was lowered to provide flood protection to residents and enable expansion of agriculture. By changing the ground and surface water flows, flows from coastal springs and artesian wells were reduced and the amplitude of seasonal fluctuations increased. Storm water discharges have also increased to maintain flood protection while water quality has declined due to storm water runoff from urbanized and developed areas. Demand for ground water is expected to increase and the threat of contamination will as well due to the transmissivity of the Biscayne Aquifer.

Natural tributary drainage and groundwater flows from the Everglades to the coast have been altered by the construction of an extensive system of water management canals. The receiving estuaries have been detrimentally affected by the impact of reduced groundwater flows and sporadic, short-term, extraordinarily high-volume storm water discharges from agricultural and urban areas and excess water from the WCAs.

The great loss of habitat resulting from extensive land development has almost eliminated some vegetative communities from the SEC landscape. The amount of protected natural habitat, now scattered in fragments within the urban/agricultural landscape, is so small that it does not guarantee the future of threatened and endangered species or other native species.

The SEC is the recipient and new home for many non-native plant and animal species due to the warm, wet climate and lack of frost. Their rampant spread has had devastating impacts on native vegetative communities and the general ecological balance. For example, over 300 species of exotic plants are known to be established in natural community

fragments in Dade County south of the Miami River.

A key to achieving the long-term protection and restoration of the South Florida ecosystem in the SEC will be the promotion of sustainable agriculture and urban development practices and patterns. Minimizing the loss of agricultural lands and facilitating sound infill development and revitalization will be important tools for curbing urban sprawl and enhancing the quality of life for South Florida residents. This will redirect some of the anticipated future population growth in the SEC away from lands that will be needed to restore the Everglades ecosystem and still meet the water needs of urban and agricultural users and the natural system.

The restoration objectives of critical importance for Sub-region 4 have been identified by the Working Group and are listed as follows:

• Promote water conservation.
• Reduce water supply dependence on Lake Okeechobee/WCA water.
• Protect the Biscayne Aquifer and its functions.
• Avoid/reduce expansion of development into wetlands, and ensure protected wildlife habitat.
• Eliminate invasive exotic species.
• Protect the quality of groundwater.
• Reestablish and maintain fishable, swimmable waters.
• Restore or maintain natural biodiversity.
• Promote more sustainable urban development practices and patterns.
• Promote more sustainable agricultural practices including promoting the retention of agricultural and other open space lands.
• Restore estuary water budgets, circulation dynamics, and salinity.
• Preserve upland biological communities.
• Restore seagrass, mangrove, and other estuarine habitats

Important restoration projects in progress or proposed for the Sub-region are identified on the following pages: