Florida’s Water Quality Crisis Worsened by Current Stewardship

Florida is dealing with one of the worst algal blooms in its history. An outbreak of “red tide” has affected 100 miles of coastline along southwest Florida, and blue-green algae is covering most of Lake Okeechobee and the estuaries of the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers. This past year, more than 300 sea turtles, over 115 manatees, at least 48 dolphins, many species of birds, and a variety of fish including a whale shark, goliath groupers, and tarpon have been killed by the brevetoxin in red tide from Collier County northward to Manatee County. The sudden loss of large numbers of sea turtles and manatees could threaten progress we have made in recovering these endangered species.

In recent months, people all along Florida’s southern coastlines have also suffered from the red tide and algae blooms with respiratory illnesses, headaches, rashes, and gastrointestinal distress. The blooms have driven away tourists and contributed to loss of revenue to restaurants, hotels, and other businesses who depend on clean water. A healthy environment directly contributes to Florida’s economy.

Before the Everglades ecosystem was altered, water would slowly flow from the prairies south of Orlando down the Kissimmee River to Lake Okeechobee and from the lake across the vast wetlands of the Everglades to Florida Bay. Central and south Florida was drained and engineered to make way for development and agriculture, the Kissimmee River was straightened, and the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee Rivers were dredged and connected to the coasts on both sides of the state.

Lake Okeechobee now receives polluted effluent from septic tanks, runoff from urban areas, and agricultural pollution laden with nutrients such as phosphorous and nitrogen. When water levels in the lake become high as they have this year with record rainfall, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers releases water to the east via the St. Lucie Canal and to the west via the Caloosahatchee River. This is necessary to maintain safe water levels behind the aging Herbert Hoover Dike protecting nearby towns and agricultural operations.

This year, record rains combined with high temperatures and warm waters have created a “perfect storm” for dangerous algal blooms. Although red tide is a naturally occurring phenomenon offshore, nutrient pollution exacerbates and fuels the blooms near the coast. Happening right on our shores we have witnessed and documented the impacts as we observe countless dead animals and human suffering. Unfortunately, the current red tide has already lasted longer than any other in over a decade, with no signs of stopping.

The water quality crisis in Florida is a familiar one. The unprecedented algal blooms covering our freshwaters are a symptom of decades of poorly managed development, destruction of wetlands, and alternation of natural flow ways — especially the Everglades ecosystem coupled with lack of enforcement of environmental laws. Over the past decade, many protections that could have lessened the impact and extent of our current blooms have been eliminated or weakened, setting the stage for the current disaster. For example, compliance with environmental regulations was replaced with voluntary and unenforceable “best management practices”. The budgets and personnel of environmental regulatory and monitoring agencies were slashed. Opportunities to acquire conservation lands were ignored. Most oversight of local growth management vanished. The required inspection of septic tanks was stopped.

Unfortunately, only stop-gap measures are being proposed that do not address the root of the nutrient pollution that is feeding the algae growth. This “band-aid” approach will not help prevent similar crises in the future. Florida’s leaders and agencies must take commonsense actions to improve water quality and minimize future degradation by:

• Setting enforceable controls on agricultural and urban pollution
• Funding more water storage north and south of Lake Okeechobee
• Implementing septic tank inspections and funding more septic to sewer conversions
• Funding conservation of land around Lake Okeechobee and throughout Florida.

Keeping pollution out of our waterways and groundwater throughout the state is essential for protecting Florida’s sea turtles, manatees, birds, fish, and other wildlife. We cannot continue the status quo and allow an ever-increasing volume of toxic water to disrupt and destroy our natural heritage. The costs to wildlife and our environment are too much to bear. It’s time to seek lasting solutions and demand action today.