Editing Biscayne National Park (section)

===Hydrology===
Biscayne Bay is a shallow semi-enclosed lagoon which averages {{convert|10|ft|abbr=on}} in depth.<ref name=wbiscsalin8>{{cite web|title=Estimates of Flows to Meet Salinity Targets for Western Biscayne National Park|url=http://digitalcollections.fiu.edu/sfrc/pdfs/FI11060804.pdf|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=8 January 2013|page=8|date=June 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130521210355/http://digitalcollections.fiu.edu/sfrc/pdfs/FI11060804.pdf|archive-date=21 May 2013}}</ref>  Both its mainland margins and the keys are covered by mangrove forest. The park includes the southern portion of Biscayne Bay, with areas of thin sediment called "hardbottom", and vegetated [[seagrass meadow]]s supporting turtlegrass and shoal grass.<ref name=npsbisc1>{{cite web|title=Biscayne Bay|url=http://www.nps.gov/bisc/naturescience/biscaynebay.htm|work=Biscayne National Park|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=19 November 2012}}</ref>

As a result of efforts to control water resources in Florida and projects to drain the [[Everglades]] during the early and mid-20th century, water flow into Biscayne Bay has been altered by the construction of canals. These canals channel water from portions of the southeastern Everglades now used for agriculture into the bay. Prior to canal construction, most fresh water inflow came from rain and groundwater, but the canals are now altering the salinity profile of the bay, conveying sediment and pollutants and leading to [[saltwater intrusion]] into the Biscayne aquifer. The [[Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan]] (CERP) was established in 2000 to mitigate the effects of human intervention into the natural water flow of the Everglades. Primarily aimed at the [[Restoration of the Everglades|restoration of historical patterns of water flow]] into Everglades National Park, the project will also deal with issues arising from the diversion of water out of the southern Everglades into Biscayne Bay.<ref name=sotpbisc2>NPCA, p. 2</ref> The Biscayne Bay Coastal Wetlands Project (BBCW) is a CERP component specifically intended to redistribute water flow so that fresh water is introduced gradually through creeks and marshes rather than short, heavy discharges through drainage canals.<ref name=npca13>NPCA, p. 13</ref>