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Human Health and Safety

DEEP DIVE: Yes, Lake O discharges feed red tide. Here’s how it works

March 4, 2025

The recent bout of red tide on Florida’s Gulf Coast that killed fish and caused respiratory problems to people also brought up a long-standing subject of debate: Do Lake Okeechobee discharges cause red tide? Several scientific studies show that Lake…

Florida’s Legislature convenes March 4 – here’s what we want them to do

February 13, 2025

For weeks Florida legislators have been meeting in committee, filing and debating bills and preparing for the official start of the 2025 Legislative Session on March 4. This session VoteWater’s Gil Smart will travel to Tallahassee to lobby for clean-water…

Sign the Petition: Rescue the River of Grass

January 30, 2025

Rescue the River of Grass – and finish the job of Everglades restoration

January 30, 2025

 You want to save the Everglades, the northern estuaries and Florida Bay? You want to protect people and animals from harmful algal blooms and safeguard South Florida’s economy? Then it’s time to “Rescue the River of Grass.” Launched by…

Great turnout for VoteWater town hall in Sewall’s Point

March 25, 2024

Our community event on the discharges from Lake Okeechobee filled the Sewall’s Point Town Hall last Thursday, with dozens of engaged citizens turning out to learn about the problem – and what they can do about it. Thanks to all…

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…

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…

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…

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…

Florida sugar barons defiant in wake of import ban, forced labor allegations

December 1, 2022

When the U.S. government last week banned sugar imports from a top Dominican producer owned in part by the Florida-based Fanjul brothers, the company could have shown a little contrition. After all, an investigation by the U.S. Customs and Border…

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