A Southwest Florida protection project is getting $1.06 million aimed at helping filter pollutants from the Caloosahatchee River.
The funds, announced Tuesday by the governor's office, listed a total of more than $13.6 million for 10 projects across the state that use innovative technologies and short-term solutions to aid in the prevention, cleanup and mitigation of harmful algal blooms.
That list included $1,069,382 for the Caloosahatchee Estuary & Estero Bay Nutrient Prevention Demonstration Project, described as a protection project and administered by the Storm Drain Protection Act of 2022.
An official with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection said the Caloosahatchee project will deploy storm water treatment filters at more than 1,600 locations in the Caloosahatchee River Estuary and Estero Bay to prevent key pollutants, like phosphorous and nitrogen, from entering the watershed.
Alexandra Kuchta, press secretary for the DEP, said that following deployment, staff will monitor the performance of these filters.
Currently, DEP is working on executing grant agreements with the awarded applicants.
The DEP also pointed out that the state's budget recommends an additional $10 million for Fiscal Year 2023-24 to fund these types of projects. If approved, additional projects will be solicited this summer.
The state's Blue-Green Algae Task Force, created to address the issue of recurring algal blooms, recommended investment in a diverse portfolio of innovative technologies to detect, prevent, clean up and mitigate harmful algal blooms in a cost-effective, environmentally safe way.
“In addition to our record investment in water quality projects to reduce nutrient loading at its source, my administration has secured dedicated funding to deploy innovative technologies to address algal blooms,” Governor Ron DeSantis said . “These projects will help identify new ways to treat, predict and respond to blue-green algal blooms, protecting our environment and our economy.”
The Innovative Technology Grant Program in the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) facilitates the allocation of this funding and has further engaged with the Blue-Green Algae Task Force to ensure the program is optimizing its evaluation and successes.
“We all look forward to a future when harmful algal bloom events are less frequent and have a diminishing impact on our communities,” said DEP Secretary Shawn Hamilton. “To achieve this goal we know we must continue our investments in long-term water quality projects along with continued research and development of science-based mitigation and control technologies. With the continued support of Governor DeSantis and our lawmakers, I am confident that we will rise to this important challenge.”
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