Southern Waters : the Limits to Abundance.

281 Pages·2014·5.72 MB·English

by  Colten, Craig E.

Southern Waters
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Southern Waters
The LimiTs To AbundAnce
crAig e. coLTen
LouisiAnA sTATe universiTy Press
bATon rouge
Published by Louisiana State University Press
Copyright © 2014 by Louisiana State University Press
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
LSU Paperback Original
First printing
Designer: Laura Roubique Gleason
Typeface: Warnock Pro
Printer and binder: Maple Press
All original maps created by Mary Lee Eggart and Clifford Duplechin.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Colten, Craig E.
Southern waters : the limits to abundance / Craig E. Colten.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8071-5650-6 (pbk. : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-8071-5651-3
(pdf) — ISBN 978-0-8071-5652-0 (epub) — ISBN 978-0-8071-5653-7 (mobi)
1.  Water-supply—Management—Southern States. 2. Water conservation—
Southern States. 3. Water quality—Southern States. 4. Water quality manage-
ment—Southern States. I. Title.
TD223.5.C65 2014
333.9100975—dc23
2014007935
The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of
the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on
Library Resources. ∞
contents
List of Figures and Tables vii
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction 1
1. The Meanings of Water 11
Part I. ExcEss
2. Saturated Landscapes 41
3. Overflowing Waters 64
4. Excess and Illness 91
Part II. shortagE
5. Navigating Emerging Conflicts 119
6. Conserving Water for Fishing 142
7. Inadequate Quality 163
Conclusions: Confronting the Limits to Abundance 194
Notes 211
Index 257
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Figures and Tables
FIgurEs
figure i.1. A dense network of surface streams is a fundamental
characteristic of the South 2
figure 1.1. Sluyter’s model of material and conceptual exchanges in
Meinig’s stages of transatlantic contact 14
figure 1.2. ‘‘Their manner of fishynge in Virginia’’ 16
figure 1.3. Major rivers as depicted in 1718 18
figure 1.4. French depiction of Louisiana waterways 22
figure 1.5. Detail of Carolina and Florida coast 24
figure 1.6. Interior boundaries of British colonies followed lines of
latitude 27
figure 1.7. Virginia as discovered and described by Captayn John
Smith, 1606 28
figure 2.1. Florida Everglades natural drainage 46
figure 2.2. Everglades marshlands, 1960s 47
figure 2.3. Everglades Management Areas, ca. 2007 51
figure 2.4. Atchafalaya River and lower Mississippi River floodways 55
figure 2.5. Cypress forest in St. Martin Parish, Atchafalaya Basin,
1934 56
figure 3.1. Flooded business district in Melville, Louisiana, 1927 66
figure 3.2. Repairing levees during flood of 1927 67
figure 3.3. Areas protected by federal levees, 2012 74
viii | FIgurEs and tablEs
figure 3.4. Two men standing on riprap at the base of the Galveston
seawall, 1904 76
figure 3.5a. Flooding produced by Hurricane Diane in Naugatuck,
Connecticut, August 19, 1955 79
figure 3.5b. Flood damage in Naugatuck, Connecticut, August 1955 79
figure 4.1. Sanitation map of New Orleans, 1854 94
figure 4.2. Reported cases of malaria, 1915 100
figure 4.3. Malaria mortality in the southeastern United States, 1934 109
figure 5.1. Principal coastal rivers and fall zone 120
figure 5.2. Areas of concentrated dams 138
figure 6.1. Fishing on Toledo Bend Reservoir, Louisiana 158
figure 6.2. Virginia and Louisiana Wild and Scenic Rivers 160
figure 7.1. River basins and pollution status 169
figure 7.2. Potomac River municipal waste treatment, 1957 174
figure 7.3. Potomac River industrial waste treatment, 1957 175
figure 7.4. Chattahoochee River Basin municipal waste
treatment, 1957 176
figure 7.5. Coosa River Basin municipal waste treatment, 1957 177
figure 7.6. Perdido River Basin municipal waste treatment, 1957 179
figure 7.7. Pearl River Basin municipal waste treatment, 1957 180
figure 7.8. Pearl River Basin industrial waste treatment, 1957 181
figure 7.9. S altwater contamination of municipal water
supplies, 1951 189
figure 7.10. Nitrate and chloride groundwater contamination in Texas
during 1950s 190
FIgurEs and tablEs | ix
figure 8.1. Proposed Mississippi River diversion, 1968 199
Figure 8.2. Setting of Tennessee-Georgia interbasin transfer dispute 203
tablEs
table 1.1. River names along the southeastern seaboard, 1856 20
table 1.2. Native American place names for selected southern states 23
table 4.1. Precipitation and Malaria 103
table 4.2. Drainage with Federal Assistance, 1935 110
table 4.3. Soil Conservation Service Projects, 1940 114
table 6.1. Southern State Parks and Protected Areas, 1926 156
table 8.1. Population Growth in Major Texas Cities, 1970–1990 200
table 8.2. M etropolitan Statistical Area Population, 1990 and
2010 (1,000s) 209