Originally published in The News-Press by Amy Bennett Williams on June 11, 2019 Jevontae Jones knows Billy’s Creek isn’t clean, but on a June afternoon, that’s not enough to stop him from tossing a shrimp-baited line into its dark waters in hopes of hooking dinner....
Originally published in The News-Press by Chad Gillis on June 8, 2019 The Caloosahatchee River estuary may soon suffer harm if daily rains don’t come soon. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers managers cut flows from Lake Okeechobee last week to 450 cubic feet per...
Originally published in The News-Press by Patricia Borns on June 7, 2019 Fort Myers could have a new green space for residents to enjoy or a new storm water detention feature – options that 550 people will be asked to choose from in a survey to help the city decide...
Originally published in The News-Press by Amy Bennett Williams on June 2, 2019 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...
An Opinion Column originally published in The News-Press and written by John Cassani, Linda Penniman & Howard Simon on May 27, 2019 The roundtable convened by Rep. Francis Rooney with federal, state and local officials about the public health consequences of...
Originally published in The News-Press by Chad Gillis on May 24, 2019 The seeds are planted for another blue-green algae outbreak in the historic Everglades system as the base of the marine food chain is active and temperatures are warming. Algae has been found in...
Originally published by FOX4 News on May 24, 2019 The Environmental Protection Agency released new water quality standards on Wednesday, setting guidelines for cyanotoxin levels in the water. The EPA concentrations for microcystins are eight micrograms per liter and...
Originally published in The News-Press by Amy Bennett Williams on May 23, 2019 Amid rising concern about the potential health effects of toxic algae, the Environmental Protection Agency released official safety advice Wednesday that advocates say falls far short of...
Originally published in The News-Press by Amy Bennett Williams on May 21, 2019 With no fanfare, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers quietly closed a well-loved Caloosahatchee beach. This week, staff will start sodding over the sand that slopes to the river at the W.P....
Originally published by FOX4 News on May 20, 2019 The weather is heating up and so is the water, and if last years summer was any indication, that’s not a good mix for water quality. Large amounts of algae were spotted near Franklin Lock and Dam this weekend, the...
Originally published by WINK News on May 20, 2019 It is dangerous. But what can it do to your health? That is the question at the center of the water quality crisis. Now, researchers with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are trying to get you answers....
Originally published in The News-Press by Amy Bennett Williams on May 20, 2019 Federal scientists plan a first-ever study of Lake Okeechobee fishing guides to help understand the long-term health effects of the lake’s cyanobacteria blooms. The Centers for Disease...
Originally published in The News-Press by Amy Bennett Williams on May 17, 2019 Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve in Fort Myers is even greener than usual, as a floating layer of algae has appeared on the popular park’s Gator Lake and wetlands in its mitigation...
Originally published by FOX4 News on May 17, 2019 A resident in North Fort Myers posted pictures of blue-green algae in their backyard on the Caloosahatchee River on Tuesday. Calusa Waterkeeper found algae appearing on the river all the way from Labelle to North Fort...
Originally published in The Cape Coral Daily Breeze by Chuck Ballaro on May 15, 2019 A legal challenge to the state intent to issue a permit for the removal of the Chiquita Lock concluded Friday following a third day of testimony from witnesses for the city and...
Originally published by WGCU Media by Mike Kiniry & Julie Glenn on May 15, 2019 Governor Ron DeSantis recently announced the formation of a Blue-Green Algae Task Force that’s charged with reducing adverse impacts of the toxic algae blooms over the next five...
Originally published by FOX4 News on May 2, 2019 Bacteria are dirtying Southwest Florida waterways, a new study shows. Researchers at Florida Atlantic University presented results of the study to Lee County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday to show the sources of...
Originally published in The Pine Island Eagle by Meghan Bradbury on April 24, 2019 In an effort to reconnect the community to the waterways, Calusa Waterkeeper, a nonprofit clean water advocacy group, has kicked off the inaugural The Big Calusa, a recreational,...
Originally published by WINK News on March 29, 2019 Bacteria is contaminating water all along our coast. There is a new water crisis in Southwest Florida. It is not algae or red tide, but bacteria and fecal matter where we kayak and fish. John Cassani, Calusa...
Originally published by WINK News on April 22, 2019 The Estero River has around 26 times the level of bacteria than the Florida Department of Health said is safe. Lurking beneath the surface is the problem preventing cleaner waters. John Casani, a Calusa waterkeeper,...
Originally published by WJCT News on April 22, 2019 First celebrated in 1970, Earth Day marks the anniversary of the beginning of the modern environmental movement in 1970, when on April 22 an estimated 20-million Americans demonstrated for a healthy, sustainable...
As seen in a News-Press OpEd submitted by John Cassani, Calusa Waterkeeper, April 10, 2019 So far, the Florida legislative session has not adequately addressed the nutrient pollution time bomb that leads to harmful algal blooms (HABs). Great sums of public dollars...
Originally published in the Florida Weekly on April 10, 2019 A nonprofit clean water advocacy group, Calusa Waterkeeper, has created The Big Calusa, a week-long festival and cleanup. “All year long, we at Calusa Waterkeeper find ourselves talking about the...
Originally published in The News-Press by Chad Gillis on April 10, 2019 A water control structure in southwest Cape Coral will be the focus of a hearing this week as some environmental and civic groups aim to keep the City of Cape Coral from completely removing the...
Originally published in The News-Press by Chad Gillis on April 5, 2019 Some bills aimed at cleaning up pollution from old and leaky septic tanks are making their way through subcommittees in Tallahassee while others are floundering. Several proposed laws target septic...
Originally published in The News-Press by Chad Gillis on April 4, 2019 Water quality scientists and environmental groups are worried the seeds could be planted for another crippling bloom, as cyanobacteria is still being found in the Everglades system. Besides being...
Originally published in the North Fort Myers Neighbor on April 4, 2019 With water quality at the forefront of the issues to which Gov. Ron DeSantis has pledged remedy, actions this week continue to follow promises made along the campaign trail. On Monday, DeSantis...
Originally published in The News-Press by Amy Bennett williams on April 1, 2019 U.S. Rep. Francis Rooney, R-Naples, is pressing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to share what it knows about the short- and long-term health effects of the toxic algae that...
Originally published by WINK News on March 29, 2019 Thursday night, President Donald Trump landed in Florida ahead of his highly anticipated visit to Lake Okeechobee and the Herbert Hoover Dike. Trump toured both the dike and the lake by helicopter Friday, where he...
As reported by Amy Bennett Williams of The News-Press on Mar 27, 2019. Chainsaws growling, workers have started taking big bites out of the tangle of exotic plants that have all but choked off Mullock Creek in south Lee County. With headwaters just east of U.S. 41...
