Changing out our politicians is one solution to Florida’s water problems, even though it is a very slow and unpredictable process. The new guide to political candidates and their association with polluters should be very useful and we look forward to it.

Here we learn why Florida Sportsman is so tuned to the environment: it is published by Blair Wickstrom (see below.)

Manatees starving to death in the Indian River Lagoon in numbers never before seen nor sustainable. Billions of gallons of raw sewage spewing from aging pipes into Broward County canals and the Intracoastal Waterway. Biscayne Bay’s once lush seagrass beds now just sandy moonscapes. The once thriving Apalachicola oyster industry now shut down from mismanaged water supply and over harvest.

It makes one wonder under whose watch it got this bad.

How did Florida’s water get so bad?

The short answer is to look to Florida’s elected officials. For 120 years, some members of every level of government have forsaken the Sunshine State’s lakes, rivers, springs and estuaries for the favors of special interests and campaign contributors.

Polluters’ wants are prioritized over the health of manatees, fish, dolphins and humans. Corporate requests weigh more than conserving marine habitat. Developers are permitted to foul waters downstream. Agribusiness is allowed to hold too much water when it’s dry, or dump all the water from their fields if the rains come.

The end result is hundreds of miles and thousands of acres of beleaguered, filthy, fouled waterways. The fish and wildlife living in them die and the health of the people living near or working or recreating on them is in danger..

What will clean the water?

The damage done is unconscionable, inexcusable and perhaps irreversible. What will it take to restore these once pristine waters close to their optimal quality?

VoteWater.org believes it can help. The nonprofit believes the path to clean water begins with county, state and federal elected officials.

“We want to be known as the public policy advocate for clean water in Florida. Our mission statement is to fight political corruption in Florida by galvanizing public resolve to end systemic pollution and mismanagement of our waterways,” explained Blair vot [sic] Wickstrom, president of VoteWater.org’s board. “Florida’s water problems are political problems requiring political solutions.”

The guides will tell voters which candidates accept donations from potential polluters and special interests. In 2022, Florida will vote for governor, the Senate seat occupied by Marco Rubio, and all of its congressional seats.

The policies the nonprofit wants candidates and elected officials to pursue include

• Hold major polluters accountable
• Make human health a priority
• Fully fund pollution monitoring and enforcement
• Prioritize funding of sewage system upgrades
• Buy more land for stormwater runoff storage and treatment
• Protect marine ecosystem habitat.

Bullsugar last week announced its name change VoteWater.org. The move was necessary for the group to effect change in waterways throughout the state, not just in South Florida, where Bullsugar’s efforts had been focused since being founded in 2014, Wickstrom said.