by Calusa Waterkeeper | Jun 25, 2020 | Press, Science
Originally published in The News-Press by Chad Gillis on June 25, 2020 A group of local scientists are mapping out critical marine habitats in the Caloosahatchee River in hopes that tape grass will flourish here again. The Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation and...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Jun 19, 2020 | Featured, Press
Originally published in The News-Press by Chad Gillis on June 19, 2020 A blue-green algae bloom has taken over more than half of Lake Okeechobee, the liquid heart of the historic Everglades. Satellite photos show the 720-square-mile lake as being mostly covered with a...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Jun 10, 2020 | Bacteria Monitoring, Press
Calusa Waterkeeper Tests for Source of Billy’s Creek Contamination Originally published by WINK News on June 10, 2020 Fecal bacteria contamination in Billy’s Creek has been a concern for years, and a local group, Calusa Waterkeeper, is working to fix the problem. They...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Jun 8, 2020 | Featured
SWFL clean water non-profit takes stock and looks to the future Springing from humble origins, spawned by a handful of grassroots working men and women stepping up to adopt an orphaned river, Caloosahatchee River Citizens Association – the predecessor to today’s...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Jun 4, 2020 | Press
Runoff from Construction Sites Enter Caloosahatchee River Originally published by WINK News on June 4, 2020 Construction runoff has been getting into the Caloosahatchee River recently and residents and professionals alike have noticed murky patches. John Cassani, with...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Jun 3, 2020 | Featured, Press
Originally published in Florida Weekly on June 3, 2020 Water. From the grand rivers, coastal sounds and bays throughout the region, to the creeks and canals that meander through our neighborhoods, to the glistening Gulf of Mexico, water is in so many ways a crucial...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | May 25, 2020 | Press
Experts Watching Area of Lake Okeechobee for Blue-Green Algae Originally published by WINK News on May 25, 2020 Right now, there’s an area in Lake Okeechobee that experts are watching. What we wanted to know is if they think it’s something to be concerned about. The...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | May 8, 2020 | Press
Originally published in The News-Press by Amy Bennett Williams on May 8, 2020 For more than a month, the Caloosahatchee has been in trouble, after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers cut flows to the river from Lake Okeechobee in April, following the driest March on...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Apr 28, 2020 | Press
Originally published in The News-Press by Amy Bennett Williams on April 28, 2020 It’s the marine equivalent of a Florida panther encounter: something so extraordinarily rare that even some biologists who study the smalltooth sawfish have never seen one in the wild....
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Apr 24, 2020 | Featured
Words from the Waterkeeper, Episode 11 On this Words From the Waterkeeper, John updates us on cyanobacteria in the Caloosahatchee and the impacts the Caloosahatchee & estuaries are experiencing due to below minimum flow level needed from Lake...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Apr 20, 2020 | Featured, Press
Originally published in The News-Press by Amy Bennett Williams on April 20, 2020 Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection is investigating the city of Fort Myers a month after a massive spill sent more than 180,000 gallons of raw sewage down a neighborhood...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Apr 15, 2020 | Press
Lake O Water Levels Down Following Driest March in Several Decades Originally published by WINK News on April 15, 2020 Lake Okeechobee’s water levels are down following the driest March in the past several decades. So what does that mean for our water supply? “We get...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Apr 9, 2020 | Featured, Press
Originally published in The News-Press by Chad Gillis on April 9, 2020 Lake Okeechobee levels are falling, the Caloosahatchee River is running salty and there is a looming drought that may stay in place for another six weeks. The surface of Lake Okeechobee has...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Apr 8, 2020 | Featured, Science, Water Testing
Words from the Waterkeeper, Episode 10 Words From the Waterkeeper is back! John reports on algal bloom activity in the area, SFWMD governing board meeting, reduced minimum flow threshold for the Caloosahatchee estuary, local sewage spills, and recent federal...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Mar 25, 2020 | Press
Originally published in The News-Press by Amy Bennett Williams on March 25, 2020 More than a week after a broken lift station sent 183,000 gallons of raw sewage down Manuels Branch toward the Caloosahatchee, it’s not yet clear whether Fort Myers will face a fine for...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Mar 19, 2020 | Featured, Press
183,000 Gallons of Raw Sewage Spilled and now Winding Through the Caloosahatchee Originally published by WINK News on March 19, 2020 A whopping 183,000 gallons of raw sewage spilled into your water and now it’s winding its way through the Caloosahatchee. Crews are...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Mar 19, 2020 | Featured, Press
Originally published in The News-Press by Amy Bennett Williams on March 19, 2020 With its historic homes and royal palm-lined streets, the McGregor Boulevard neighborhood through which Manuels Branch meanders typifies old Fort Myers graciousness. That is, until you...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Mar 12, 2020 | Cape Coral Spreader Canals, Featured, Press
Originally published in The News-Press by Bill Smith on March 12, 2020 The state Department of Environmental Protection has given final denial to an application from the city of Cape Coral for a permit to tear down the Chiquita Lock near Cape Harbour in the southwest...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Feb 4, 2020 | CWK Rangers, Featured
Now that we number 82 volunteer Rangers (covering 1000 square miles of water in our watershed), it is not feasible for us all to meet on a monthly basis. So, the various Ranger Zones meet monthly, and every three months we gather members of our entire Ranger program...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Jan 28, 2020 | Press
Originally published in The News-Press by Chad Gillis on January 28, 2020 The dry season is finally starting to live up to its name. After an early end to the 2019 rainy season and a soggy December, January has turned out to be all dry, and meteorologists are calling...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Jan 9, 2020 | Harmful Algal Blooms, Press
Blue-Green Algae Returns to Fort Myers Shores Originally published by WINK News on January 8, 2020 John Cassani, the Calusa Waterkeeper, said to see algae in the middle of the dry season is unusual. ”When it’s calm and the wind starts blowing, those tend to stick...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Jan 8, 2020 | Harmful Algal Blooms, Press
Originally published in The News-Press by Amy Bennett-Williams on January 8, 2020 Just in time for the height of tourist season, patchy slicks of blue-green algae are showing up in the Caloosahatchee, including at one of the river’s popular access points, the Davis...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Dec 19, 2019 | Featured, Press
Originally published in The News-Press by Bill Smith on December 16, 2019 A state administrative law judge has recommended that the state environmental agency reverse its decision and deny Cape Coral a permit needed to remove the Chiquita Lock. The lock, at Cape...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Dec 13, 2019 | Cape Coral Spreader Canals, Press
State Judge Recommends Chiquita Lock Remain in Cape Coral Originally published by WINK News on December 13, 2019 The City of Cape Coral wants the Chiquita Lock gone, but environmentalists say it will cause problems and want it to stay. A state judge agrees the lock...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Dec 9, 2019 | Press
Caloosahatchee River and Estuaries Facing New Type of Algae Bloom Originally published by NBC-2 News on December 8, 2019 The Caloosahatchee River and its estuaries have been looking brown and murky. It’s making people ask ‘what’s in the water?’...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Dec 6, 2019 | Press, Water Testing
Originally published in The News-Press by Chad Gillis on December 6, 2019 A different variety of algae is blooming in parts of the Caloosahatchee River, but unlike other blooms the region has experienced in the past two years, this algae is not toxic to humans....
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Nov 9, 2019 | Planning, Press
Originally published in The News-Press by Amy Bennett-Williams on November 09, 2019 Fast-growing cyanobacteria blooms fouling the massive lake. Global media descending to document dead wildlife and economic devastation. Dire warnings about blue-green algae toxins’...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Oct 8, 2019 | Lake Okeechobee, Press
Originally published in The News-Press by Chad Gillis on October 8, 2019 The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is releasing Lake Okeechobee water to the Caloosahatchee River again, but these discharges are expected to help the river and estuary. Lake O releases have been a...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Aug 19, 2019 | Press
Originally published in The News-Press by Chad Gillis on August 19, 2019 The future of Lake Okeechobee releases will be guided by a group that’s meeting for the first time Tuesday in Clewiston. Called the project delivery team, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Aug 5, 2019 | Featured, Science
In this week’s episode of Words from the Waterkeeper, John Cassani provides updates on current water conditions in the region and talks about upcoming...
