[cogitator]

Is there some argument about how the water should be released when it rains like Hell?

The problem is that the flow is channelized, and when the system was entirely natural (before the Army Corps of Engineers redesigned South Florida) it wasn't. When there was more water in the unchannelized system, the water level over the whole Everglades would go up a couple of inches. But now, with channelized flow, a fairly normal rainy summer in Florida (and I think this is the first rainy summer for about 4? years) causes a "backup" in Okeechobee and high water levels in all of the canals.

[HairOfTheDog]

Right.... I think I get that at some point people decided they wanted to move in and not be flooded, so dikes were built that keep most people dry most of the time...

I can see that 'what to do' about the water would have all kinds of room for debate.... I just can't figure out at the moment who is supposed to do what... Not that there is anything wrong with that. I am at the other corner of the country.