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Florida Water Quality

Using tech to fight algae – so we don’t have to crack down on polluters

September 21, 2023

Another day, another “technological” fix for Florida’s dirty water. Today’s news story comes to you from the Indian River Lagoon, where Florida Today recently reported on how attempts to “harvest” harmful algae via a floating barge could make the lagoon…

As Idalia approaches, some links to resources and a look at what happens after the storm

August 29, 2023

As Hurricane Idalia makes its way toward landfall near Florida’s Big Bend, here are some key links for those in the path of the storm: For a comprehensive look at resources available, shelters open by county, evacuation info and more…

Manatee County decision to gut wetlands protections shows the need to “Vote Water”

August 25, 2023

VoteWater’s Gil Smart makes the case in this video:

VoteWater Deep Dive: Chemical treatments can kill toxic algae – but are they safe?

August 23, 2023

After several years of using an algaecide to kill blue-green algal blooms in Lake Okeechobee and the canals around it, the South Florida Water Management District now plans to test the chemical compound for possible damage to the environment. At…

Should we really roll the dice and roll back fertilizer bans?

August 16, 2023

Summertime fertilizer bans are common throughout Florida. Statewide, 18 counties and more than 100 municipalities have a “strong” fertilizer ordinance that, among other things, include strict, no-exemption rainy season bans. Two reasons for that: first, many fertilizers include nitrogen and…

Special Report: 10 years after the ‘Lost Summer’ of 2013, what’s changed?

August 1, 2023

Ten years ago today, we were in the eye of the storm. The discharges from Lake Okeechobee to the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers had begun May 8; by early August 2013 the “Lost Summer” was in full swing, with…

VoteWater Deep Dive: Seagrass is returning to the Indian River Lagoon! … Or is it?

July 25, 2023

In southern lagoon new seagrass is sprouting; in northern lagoon progress is slower. But Lake O discharges and impacts from development could ruin it all. Lorae Simpson is seeing an unusual sight in the Indian River Lagoon this summer. “When…

Why we fight

July 5, 2023

It doesn’t get more American than this. Leading up to the Fourth of July, Florida beaches and waterways were packed. Families in the sand, music and cold beverages on the boat, some fishing, some swimming — that’s why we live…

Manatee deaths slowing, but could Lake O discharges change that?

June 29, 2023

First the good news: The record pace of manatee deaths in Florida has slowed. Two years ago Florida saw a record 1,100 manatee deaths. The primary cause of this “unusual mortality event” was starvation due to the loss of seagrass…

Toxic future: Why Lake O algae blooms will return every single year

June 14, 2023

You know those massive algal blooms that cover much of Lake Okeechobee each spring and summer? The ones that threaten the St. Lucie River and Caloosahatchee River estuaries, and everyone who lives around or spends time on them, with toxins?…

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