Florida’s Fight for Clean Waters ‘Largely an Infrastructure Problem’
by Carrie Elizabeth Bradon | The Florida Free Press
ORLANDO — Nutrient over-enrichment has caused a decline in Florida’s water quality, paving the way to potentially devastating effects on the economy as well as the general way of life, but the available solutions remain contested, promising to be expensive and highly involved.
According to Florida Sea Grant, a University of Florida-based education and research program, recent Florida summers saw a massive increase of algal and cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae blooms, in large part due to environmental changes such as heavy rainfall, high temperatures and large concentrations of nutrients.
While natural factors play a role in the worsening water quality, the human element should not be discounted, Duane De Freese, executive director of the Indian River Lagoon Council and Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program, told The Florida Free Press.
“Nutrient pollution is largely an infrastructure problem associated with aging and inadequate wastewater, inadequate septic systems and stormwater infrastructure issues that do not adequately address water quality needs,” De Freese said in a recent interview.
So long as inadequate wastewater, septic systems, fertilizer and stormwater runoff continue to leak excess phosphorus and nitrogen into the waterways, the harmful algal blooms enjoy an environment in which they thrive, leading to larger and longer-lasting blooms.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, harmful algal blooms (HABs) are responsible for toxin production, capable of poisoning animals and humans who come in contact with the water. When HABs decompose, they remove oxygen from water sources, starving fish and plants. As dead fish and aquatic animals wash up on shores, foul odors permeate the air. In severe cases, breathing the air near a bloom can result in sickness.
With beaches and waterways attracting many of Florida’s tourists, the algal blooms resulting in the red tide are estimated to adversely impact the tourism industry by $20 million annually. Meanwhile, the Florida Department of Health warns visitors about the associated dangers of blue-green algae and red tide, both of which can leave water unsafe for swimming and air unsuitable for breathing.
“Florida is beginning to address the need for aggressive nutrient reduction strategies,” De Freese said. “Under Gov. DeSantis, Florida has begun to address these issues as high priorities. Scientific task forces have been convened to address the issues. Florida is moving in the right direction, but much work still needs to be done.”
Shortly after taking office, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Executive Order 19–12, establishing a Blue-Green Algae Task Force and creating the Office of Environmental Accountability and Transparency, which is responsible for “ensuring key water quality objectives are clearly communicated to the public, as well as organizing agency resources and scientific expertise, data and research to focus on and solve complex challenges,” according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
The necessary infrastructural improvements, De Freese said, would cost billions of dollars, but ensuring that Florida continues to enjoy clean water is imperative to the health of the economy and the many lives that depend on it. As such, it is possible that the cost of inaction could exceed the billions in improvement costs.
“Florida’s economy is closely connected to clean water,” De Freese said. “Clean water attracts. Dirty water repels. Clean water will require a strong partnership at all levels — local, state and federal. It will require both public and private-sector innovation, engagement and investment.”
This story is part of an ongoing series investigating water quality issues in the state of Florida.
