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Deep Dive

Deep Dive: Baby manatees are dying – and it might be a sign of recovery

September 26, 2024

So far this year, 133 baby manatee have been found dead in Florida, a mortality rate more than twice the five-year average and more deaths than any other entire year since the state began keeping records in 1974. Still, manatee…

DEEP DIVE: Is this the calm before the toxic algae bloom storm?

September 17, 2024

Aside from some recent flare-ups — like the toxic algae found in the St. Lucie River this past spring and the near-constant algae in Lake Okeechobee — Florida waters have mostly been spared the massive, guacamole-like blue-green algae blooms that choked…

Deep Dive: Seagrass shows signs of life in the Indian River Lagoon

July 18, 2024

Boy, we could use some good news about Florida’s environment. So here it is: Seagrass appears to be making a comeback — at least for now, at least to a limited degree and at least in some areas — in…

Deep Dive: As STA costs go up, Big Sugar’s share of the bill goes down

May 22, 2024

In our last “Deep Dive,” we noted how the stormwater treatment areas (STAs) — 62,000-acres of man-made wetlands south of Lake Okeechobee designed to clean water headed to the Everglades — could be used to help mitigate harmful Lake O…

Deep Dive: If the STAs were reserved for lake water, Lake O might be below 13 feet now

April 4, 2024

As billions of gallons of polluted water poured out of Lake Okeechobee and into the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee River estuaries and Lake Worth Lagoon, a familiar question kept being raised: Why isn’t that water going south? And a familiar…

Deep Dive: If we build a reservoir north of Lake O, who gets the water?

March 5, 2024

Everyone agrees that building a reservoir north of Lake Okeechobee is a good thing, a rarity among projects proposed for the greater Everglades plumbing system. More true to form is the fact that not everyone agrees on what ought to…

Deep Dive: What will it cost to fix the Indian River Lagoon?

February 1, 2024

When is $100 million not a lot of money? When it comes to saving the Indian River Lagoon. In December, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the allocation of $100 million in state funds through the Indian River Lagoon Protection Program for…

VoteWater Deep Dive: This project could clean water going into Lake O, but local residents oppose it. Now what?

December 7, 2023

Work on a large stormwater treatment area to cut the flow of polluted water into Lake Okeechobee has been put on hold while the South Florida Water Management District reviews concerns that the project could cause flooding and airplane crashes.…

Deep Dive: Here’s what Big Sugar can do to fix flooding in the Everglades

October 27, 2023

All is not well in the central Everglades. High water levels in the water conservation areas south of Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades Agricultural Area are flooding tree islands, and those dependent upon them — people, and creatures like deer…

VoteWater Deep Dive: Get ready for the fight over fertilizer

October 5, 2023

New study based on flawed past studies could be used to justify permanent ban on fertilizer bans — leading to dirtier water One of the more dubious actions (and there were plenty) taken by the 2023 Florida Legislature and rubber-stamped…

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