Recent rains are a welcome reprieve for Florida’s sensitive and often over-burdened ecological systems. Lakes, wetlands, rivers and springs — all subject to the effects of development, farming, drought and a changing climate — are, for a time, replenished.
But rain, when it comes in large doses such as the 16.7 inches that fell in Chiefland last month alone, can bring with it unwelcome changes, especially in areas with relatively low groundwater levels.