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SFWMD’s EAA Reservoir Footprint Can’t Work

November 9, 2017

The South Florida Water Management District did what we asked: they ran the model to find out how much land we need to store, treat, and send clean water south to the Everglades instead of to our rivers. So why,…

Why We Failed 10 Years Ago

November 2, 2017

We’ve been here before: on the verge of building a dynamic reservoir in the EAA to cut discharges to the coasts by taking water from Lake Okeechobee, cleaning it, and sending it south to Florida Bay and the parched Everglades. That…

Guest Column: Time for a Winning Goal, by Karl Wickstrom

October 26, 2017

SFWMD just announced that modeling for the EAA reservoir’s land needs will be released in December. Thank you to all the Bullsugar supporters, politicians, journalists, and conservationists who demanded more urgency from the district. December still leaves almost no time for independent scientists…

Is the Army Corps’ COP a Chance to Get Our Priorities Straight?

October 19, 2017

The Army Corps wants to hear from you about developing water and drainage plans. Is this a chance to start talking about where health and human safety rank in South Florida’s water management system? The Corps’ public comment request is for…

Martin County Pressured to Weaken Conservation Rules

October 18, 2017

Why is Doug Smith’s Martin County commission weakening protections for the St. Lucie? It comes down to money and sugar. Whenever you call attention to the sugar industry’s responsibility for destroying Florida’s rivers, their executives immediately blame local communities for overdevelopment,…

Progress on SB10 at Risk

October 12, 2017

Please read “A Catastrophe in the Everglades and How to Fix It” by Hal Herring in the latest Field & Stream (click here). No one has ever crafted a sharper picture of what’s at stake in South Florida and how close we are…

Why Didn’t We Throw Tomatoes at Ernie Marks?

October 5, 2017

Last week, Ernie Marks, executive director of the South Florida Water Management District, faced a crowded room at a Rivers Coalition meeting in Stuart. He’d joked about getting hit with tomatoes. He did get some sharp questions, including from Bullsugar, but he…

Without SFWMD Model, EAA Reservoir is on Track to Fail

September 28, 2017

Right now billions of gallons of fertilizer, sewage, and legacy pollution from Lake Okeechobee are spewing into the St. Lucie River, carrying a new threat of toxic algae. Water managers may say Irma left them no choice, but of course that’s a…

Guides’ Guide to Available Assistance

September 26, 2017

Irma’s next victims will be the fishing, hospitality, artist, and service communities in South Florida.  The next urgent task is to help supplement those without sufficient financial buffers against unexpected catastrophe of this scale. As recovery begins, we should be…

Sugar Back-Pumping Increases Dike Failure Risk

September 21, 2017

With weeks left in the 2017 hurricane season, and open speculation about how long the Herbert Hoover dike can hold back a rising Lake Okeechobee, how can the sugar industry possibly justify adding to the danger by back-pumping billions of gallons of water off…

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