Water

A Florida Senate bill that critics claim is being fast-tracked through the Legislature to ensure big agriculture receives all of the water it already uses from Lake Okeechobee, rather than follow longstanding plans to send more of it into the Everglades, passed the chamber late this week.

Large amounts of nutrient-rich water released from Lake Okeechobee could once again flow down the Caloosahatchee River if a last-minute Florida Senate bill becomes law. The last-minute bill, SB 2508, effectively returns control of Lake Okeechobee’s water management to agricultural interests and was filed by the Republican-led Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday. In addition to largely giving deference over the lake’s water usage to South Florida’s farming interests, critics of the bill say it would jeopardize water quality and lower water quantity in the Everglades, and threaten the viability for the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) reservoir.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has forecast the next few months will be both warmer and drier than average in Florida. Since the state’s winter months are typically dry, the combination has Southwest Florida water managers asking people to conserve water. Activities such as washing clothes, hosing down the car, and topping off the pool use plenty of water and should be curtailed when possible, according to officials with the South Florida Water Management District. Conserving water at home can help keep wells from running dry, save money, and reduce the stress on the Floridan aquifer.

The proposed “Safe Waterways Act” by Calusa Waterkeeper would require the Florida Department of Health (FDOH) to issue health advisories and post and maintain warning notices at “public bathing places” where the water has been found to contain fecal bacteria.

Environmental groups working to restore the Florida Everglades were elated to learn Wednesday that $1.1 billion from the federal infrastructure package has been earmarked to help pay for the massive, multi-decade restoration. The money will be used to hasten the efforts to undo the extensive environmental damage the Everglades suffered in the early 1900s, when the Army Corps built canals, locks and levees in a massive water management and flood control plan before the damaging environmental impacts of such efforts were fully known. Improving water quality and quantity is the Everglades is a top priority.

Calusa Waterkeeper has announced a new Executive Director. Learn more about Trisha Botty and her plans to continue advocating for improved water quality in our region.

Get the latest updates on some of the major Everglades restoration projects underway, and still on the drawing board, here in South Florida.

But within the slender, 30-mile long Mosquito Lagoon in Brevard and Volusia counties, mangroves are asserting dominance. Scientists think that mangroves have an ally in the rising level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that is trapping more of the sun’s heat and rapidly warming the planet.

DeSantis said his office will continue to support the $1.6 billion Everglades Agricultural Area reservoir, which was approved by the Legislature in 2017 but has recently been questioned by new Senate President Wilton Simpson, R-Trilby.

A judge has given the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers a year to assess the damage caused to sea turtles, manatees and other protected species by dirty water released from Lake Okeechobee.