fbpx

All Posts

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…

If Thurlow-Lippisch loses seat on SFWMD board, polluters win

June 13, 2023

Here’s a case study of how politics pollutes Florida’s waters: Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch is a Sewall’s Point Realtor, long-time Treasure Coast clean water advocate and, since 2019, a member of the South Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board. Few people in…

VoteWater Deep Dive: What’s the state’s game plan for the next toxic algae crisis?

May 31, 2023

If this summer brings toxic algae blooms to the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee estuaries, are state agencies ready, willing and able to find the toxins and quickly warn the public? The need for early detection of and warnings for toxic…

DeSantis signs ‘sprawl bill’; will he let fertilizer ban stand?

May 26, 2023

One down, one to go — and not in a good way. On May 24, after weeks of lobbying and email campaigns and public pleas by citizens and conservation groups seeking a veto, Gov. Ron DeSantis ignored it all and signed…

VoteWater Deep Dive: What is Florida going to do with all this sewage sludge?

May 11, 2023

The Florida Legislature has taken a step to address one of the state’s nastiest and fastest-growing environmental problems. The problem is that this attempt to solve one problem may well create another. As the legislative session wound down last week,…

Tallahassee report: We came, we lobbied – and we’ll be back

April 27, 2023

VoteWater Executive Director Gil Smart was in the state capital of Tallahassee last week, speaking to key Florida legislators about clean-water issues and bills that are now under consideration in the state House and Senate. Alongside Friends of the Everglades…

Judge tosses Big Sugar lawsuit – but a big question remains

March 27, 2023

Big Sugar just took it on the chin in court. But one of their central issues has yet to be fully addressed — and could have big implications for water storage south of Lake Okeechobee. In a March 21 ruling,…

It’s time for Big Agriculture to help stop discharges — here’s how they can do it

March 16, 2023

Here’s an idea whose time has come. The key thing to realize about the system of drainage and water conveyance around Lake Okeechobee is that the system was built, and continues to be operated, to serve corporate agriculture – and…

VoteWater Deep Dive: Big Ag’s big pollution is a big problem for Florida

March 10, 2023

The question was simple, the answer complicated. But it needn’t have been. In late January Adam Blalock, Deputy Secretary for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, gave a presentation on water quality to the new House Water Quality, Supply and…

Sprawl-backed bills would sound death knell for local clean-water rules

March 7, 2023

Is your local government spending too much time worrying about clean water? Are your city or county officials too concerned about blue-green algae or red tide? Are they overly obsessed with “nutrients,” spending too much time on dead seagrass or…

Archives