The following is a disappointing press release from our governor, with comments by OSFR president Mike Roth.
Some members of the DEP’s Blue-Green Algae Task Force actually recommended attacking the source of the lake’s pollution, which is mostly agricultural fertilizer, but these voices went unheard because, as Mike Roth says, there is no political will, and Big Ag is politically protected. Throwing money and blowing hot air will not fix our water problems.
Comments by OSFR historian Jim Tatum.
jim.tatum@oursantaferiver.org
– A river is like a life: once taken,
it cannot be brought back © Jim Tatum
The public needs to realize that the tens of millions of dollars going into mitigation is merely our tax dollars going into cleaning up Big Sugar’s garbage. And “first of its kind tested in Florida’ could mean another major fish kill and other lethal effects on water systems and basins. And still, “all of these efforts cannot guarantee an end to the devastating releases…” Only some political will to rein in Big Sugar can do that.
Michael Roth, President
Our Santa Fe River, Inc.
352-316-4705
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On Oct 14, 2020, at 5:47 PM, Florida Department of Environmental Protection <FloridaDEP@public.govdelivery.com> wrote:
Innovative technology staged to be deployed if needed to protect South Florida estuaries and communities |
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Mike:
You may want to stay in your own lane. Almost all of the sugar farming is south of Lake Okeechobee (big and small farmers). Any water that is used for irrigation by those farmers ends up cleaner than when they received it. The water then continues south (not north).
Yes, Lake Okeechobee is a huge problem due to the nutrient load existing within the lake (due to our federal government straightening the Kissimmee River 40+ years ago causing sediment to quickly move downstream to the lake). There is also a latent load of nutrients on the landscape north of the lake from decades back that can only be addressed through regional stormwater treatment projects (STAs) such as those located south of the lake just west of the urban region.
Repeating false information that is found on social media over and over does not in time make it true. We are working towards finding and implementing solutions and not throwing nutrient-laden mud.