Calusa Waterkeeper
In the News
Calusa Waterkeeper Tackles Water Quality and Public Health
Ground-breaking research – particularly on environmental toxicity and potential inhalation risks – sent flashing alarms that the health threats from HABs may be exponentially more dangerous than we surmised, lending increased urgency to communicating the most current data to a public starved for information.
Environmental Groups Filed a Lawsuit Against Lake Okeechobee Water Releases
Calusa Waterkeeper, John Cassani filed a lawsuit yesterday with the Waterkeeper Alliance and Center for Biological Diversity against the Army Corps of Engineers for failing to address human and wildlife concerns in regards to Lake Okeechobee water releases.
Summit to Address Public Health Risks of Harmful Algal Blooms
The Calusa Waterkeeper invites the public and healthcare professionals to a public water summit to include a screening of the groundbreaking documentary “Toxic Puzzle,” followed by an expert panel, including two scientists featured in the documentary.
As Toxic Algae Blooms Spawn, Suit Demands Lake O Discharges Stop
Three conservation groups sued three federal agencies, demanding Okeechobee releases into the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers cease until the U.S. ACOE meets a December 2018 commitment to update its release schedule in compliance with the Endangered Species Act.
Words from the Waterkeeper
Check in with Calusa Waterkeeper John Cassani for the very first installment of the CWK vlog!
Lawsuit Launched to Stop Toxic Algae Bloom Releases From Lake Okeechobee
A lawsuit filed in the Southern District of Florida challenges the U.S. ACOE’s refusal to address the harms to human health and wildlife like sea turtles and Florida manatees from the lake’s toxic, nutrient-rich discharges into the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie rivers and their estuaries.
Billy’s Creek Dredging Project may Relieve Flooding on the Troubled Tributary, but Fecal Pollution Remains a Worry
Even as dredges suck bottom muck while earthmovers level it out at an impromptu staging area at Fort Myers’ Shady Oaks Park, Calusa Waterkeeper’s samples of Billy’s Creek continue to show levels of fecal bacteria well beyond what would close a public beach.
Activists Spread Awareness for World Oceans Day
Community members gathered to celebrate World Oceans Day with music and beer at Millennial Brewing in Downtown Fort Myers. Groups like Calusa Waterkeeper wanted to bring awareness to not just the polluted oceans, but also the rivers and estuaries that need protection.
Lower Lake Okeechobee Discharges Could be Bad for Caloosahatchee if Rains don’t Arrive Soon
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers managers cut flows from Lake Okeechobee to 450 cubic feet per second (CFS) as measured at the W.P. Franklin Lock, the water control structure that separates the freshwater portion of the river from the estuary.
Fort Myers asks Residents to Choose Between Green Space or Detention Ponds
Fort Myers could have a new green space for residents to enjoy or a new stormwater detention feature – options that 550 people will be asked to choose from in a survey to help the city decide the next incarnation of its former South Street landfill which spans four acres.
Florida Water Summit Planned by Calusa Waterkeeper
Protecting Paradise and your health are the focus of a new summit the Calusa Waterkeeper is planning. It looks at blue-green algae blooms and the impact on our health. It’s on Monday, June 24th at 5:30 p.m. at the Broadway Palm Dinner Theater in Fort Myers.
Controversial Roundup Chemical, Glyphosate to be Banned as Herbicide on Fort Myers Beach
Glyphosate, the active ingredient in the herbicide Roundup, will soon be forbidden in Fort Myers Beach, making the town the first Lee County municipality to ban the controversial weed-killer. Fort Myers Beach Mayor Anita Cereceda said. “This effort has all been about water quality.”