There are a variety of reasons for many of the canals...the big ones to provide boat access to the gulf...it is a very attractive option to have your own boat dock on your property...Bull knows that all to well
Many small canals not big enough for boats is just to help the runoff...limit flooding during normal rainstorms
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails.