by Calusa Waterkeeper | Mar 28, 2022 | Featured
Words from the Waterkeeper, Episode 33 John Cassani brings us up to speed on the latest water quality issues in our region including the monitoring of tapegrass renewal exclosures and the efforts of local organizations to restore this important marine vegetation in...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Mar 21, 2022 | Featured, Press
Originally published by The News-Press on March 21, 2022 by Amy Bennett Williams Scientists are working to understand what’s staining water brownish to olive drab near Bunche Beach and the Sanibel Causeway in south Lee County where the Caloosahatchee River meets the...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Mar 17, 2022 | Events, Featured
Join Calusa Waterkeeper and Keep Lee County Beautiful (KLCB) as we celebrate 50 years since the Clean Water Act by cleaning up our waterways and watersheds in southwest Florida. Calusa Waterkeeper and Keep Lee County Beautiful are excited to announce our partnership...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Mar 16, 2022 | Featured, Press
Originally published by The News-Press on March 16, 2022 by Chad Gillis State water managers are asking residents and visitors in developed areas to cut down on water use because much of the state is in a moderate drought. But some environmental groups said they want...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Mar 7, 2022 | Featured
Sadly, we’re here to report that the Safe Waterways Act (SB 604) appears to be dead for the 2022 Florida legislative session. Still, your calls, emails, and efforts got it passed in Senate Committee, which is a big victory for this bill and our work together!...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Mar 4, 2022 | Events, Featured
Wednesday was a delightful evening spent with supporters and partners during our Drinks, Dialogue and a Documentary special event at the Collaboratory. Guests enjoyed a cocktail hour with local beer, spirits and wine in a limited edition, commemorative Calusa...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Feb 9, 2022 | Featured
Who We Are. What We Do. What We Have Accomplished. And, Calusa Waterkeeper’s Plans for the Future. WHO WE ARE: Calusa Waterkeeper and its supporters LOVE our waters and are fighting to protect human health, aquatic life, our local economy, and our piece of...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Feb 1, 2022 | Featured, Press
Originally published by WGCU News on February 1, 2022 The Florida Department of Health posts advisories at some coastal beaches and “public swimming areas” when fecal bacteria is detected in the water. But, there is no requirement to warn people about waters that have...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Jan 26, 2022 | Featured, Lake Okeechobee
After three long years, thousands of modeling runs and countless public input meetings, the Lake Okeechobee System Operating Manual (LOSOM) is nearing completion. And just as we thought the Army Corps was reaching a more equitable plan for most (not all) stakeholder...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Jan 22, 2022 | Featured, Press
Guest Editorial originally published by The News-Press on January 22, 2022 and written by John Cassani Why does water quality continue declining in so many areas of the state while the legislature consistently brags about historic spending to fix the problem? This...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Jan 19, 2022 | Featured
The Safe Waterways Act (SB 604) has yet to be heard in the Florida State Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources. Without this committee’s support we may lose this legislation on fecal pollution. Please call or email today to urge Chairman Jason...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Jan 5, 2022 | Featured, Lake Okeechobee, Press, Stormwater
Originally published by TC Palm on January 5, 2022. It’s a textbook Florida morning at a ranch just north of Lake Okeechobee. Cattle roam. Herons and egrets hunt for food. Clouds mosey across the sky. But beneath this idyllic scene, a silent byproduct lurks....
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Dec 29, 2021 | Featured
Words from the Waterkeeper Episode 31 For the last Words from the Waterkeeper for 2021, Calusa Waterkeeper John Cassani invites friends Dr. Win Everham, an ecology professor at Florida Gulf Coast University, and board president of Calusa Waterkeeper Jim Watkins. They...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Dec 15, 2021 | Featured, Press
What Lies Beneath? Study Aims to Learn What’s in Lake O’s Sediment Originally published by WINK News on December 15, 2021 A study is underway to find out what’s below the surface of Lake Okeechobee. Think of our water quality and the lake as a puzzle. There are many...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Dec 6, 2021 | Featured, Press
Health Alert Issued in Fort Myers Shores for Blue-Green Algae Outbreak in Caloosahatchee Originally published by WINK News on December 6, 2021 The Florida Department of Health has issued a health alert after finding harmful blue-green algae toxins in the...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Dec 2, 2021 | Featured, Press, Stormwater
Originally published by Naples Daily News on December 2, 2021 by Karl Schneider The Conservancy of Southwest Florida has filed documents supporting its appeal to overturn a court decision rejecting the group’s challenge to the development of Rivergrass, a village in...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Nov 3, 2021 | Featured, Press
Guest Editorial originally published by The News-Press on November 3, 2021 and written by John Cassani Florida passed landmark legislation in 1985 titled the Florida Right To Know Law (RTK). The RTK requires employers to provide adequate notice to employees regarding...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Nov 3, 2021 | Featured, Press, Stormwater
Originally published by The News-Press on November 3, 2021 by Amy Bennett Williams with contributions by Chad Gillis & Karl Schneider Florida’s soaring population is good for business, but there may be a hidden price: the health of the state’s...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Nov 1, 2021 | Featured, Press
Calusa Waterkeeper Announces Public Premiere of Waterborne Documentary and Expert Panel Discussion Waterborne is a Film that Explores the Contamination and Toxins Found in Regional Waterbodies People have a right to know what is in the water and the potential health...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Oct 27, 2021 | Bacteria Monitoring, Featured, Press
Originally published by The News-Press on October 27, 2021 by Amy Bennett Williams Are you splashing in poopy water if you roll your kayak in the Imperial River, take a tumble from––— your paddleboard into Whiskey Creek or wade in to untangle a bream snagged around a...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Oct 26, 2021 | Bacteria Monitoring, Featured, Press
Calusa Waterkeeper Supports SB 604 / HB 393 to Provide Broader and Consistent Public Notification of Fecal Contaminated Waterways Residents and tourists come to Florida’s iconic waters for recreation and enjoyment, but unfortunately many state waterways have become...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Oct 24, 2021 | Bacteria Monitoring, Featured, Press, Stormwater
Originally published by The News-Press on October 24, 2021 by Amy Bennett Williams What’s been long suspected now is official: Southwest Florida’s most cherished waters are in trouble. From Charlotte Harbor south to San Carlos Bay, a draft state report shows...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Oct 8, 2021 | Featured, Lake Okeechobee, Press
Originally published by The News-Press by Chad Gillis and Amy Bennett Williams on October 7, 2021 A new plan to regulate Lake Okeechobee’s water levels and outflows is nearly complete. It’s also a complete mess, or a good plan, or simply flawed, depending...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Sep 20, 2021 | Featured, Press
Calusa Waterkeeper Welcomes Trisha Botty as its New Executive Director Community advocate steps up to fight for clean water and protection of our waterways FORT MYERS, Fla. (Sept. 20, 2021) — The Board of Directors of Calusa Waterkeeper is pleased to announce the...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Sep 20, 2021 | Featured
Words from the Waterkeeper, Episode 30 This week’s water updates include the persistent bloom on Lake Okeechobee, the Caloosahatchee River, and new technology to test airborne toxins related to harmful algal...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Sep 13, 2021 | C43 Reservoir, Featured
Water district stays with alum, sand treatment for Caloosahatchee reservoir, or C-43 Originally published by The News-Press on September 13, 2021 by Chad Gillis “I think the train has left the station on this project,” said Calusa Waterkeeper John Cassani,...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Sep 4, 2021 | Featured, Lake Okeechobee, Litigation
Sugar lawsuit causes concern among environmental groups who fear EAA reservoir project delays Originally published by The News-Press on September 4, 2021 by Chad Gillis “I’ve heard the South Florida Water Management District say that the addition of the...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Aug 22, 2021 | Featured, Press
Red Tide Sticking Around Longer Could Cause More Damage Originally published by WINK News on August 22, 2021 A Facebook post from the Calusa Waterkeeper shows that areas from Sarasota to Sanibel are being impacted by red tide toxins. The photos were taken between Boca...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Aug 13, 2021 | Featured, Press
Guest Opinion written by John Cassani and originally published by The News-Press on August 13, 2021. The recent traveling PR campaign by Colonel Kelly of the ACOE (Army Corps of Engineers) to field concerns about the LOSOM plan for regulating Lake Okeechobee was quite...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Aug 10, 2021 | Bacteria Monitoring, Featured, Policy
Fecal bacteria contamination in Florida waters is widespread. In coastal estuaries 1,171,692 acres are determined impaired by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) and 9,262 miles of Florida’s streams and rivers are impaired for fecal...
