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...
Originally published in The News-Press by Chad Gillis on June 3, 2020 More than a dozen states and several environmental groups are hoping a California judge will soon stop a move to open half the nation’s wetlands and streams to potential development and...
Originally published in The News-Press by Amy Bennett Williams on May 30, 2020 On any given day, Calusa Waterkeeper members might be flying over the Caloosahatchee scanning for algae, sampling its urban tributary creeks for fecal bacteria, crunching water quality...
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...
Everglades Restoration Project may be Delayed Originally published by NBC-2 News on May 18, 2020 “Delay is a recurring theme of Everglades restoration,” said Calusa Waterkeeper John Cassani. A delay may be on the way after the US Army Corps of Engineers...
Originally published in The News-Press by Chad Gillis on May 18, 2020 Researchers are studying how toxic algae works its way through the human body and they continue to set their sights on Southwest Florida. Their goal is to one day be able to predict blooms in the...
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...
Blue Green Algae Spotted Along SWFL Beaches Originally published by FOX4 News on May 5, 2020 A form of blue-green algae is appearing along Southwest Florida beaches. While it’s not red-tide, some researches have concerns. This week, patches of Trichodesmium blooms...
Originally published in The News-Press by Amy Bennett Williams on April 30, 2020 With the height of algae season still months away, warm weather water woes are already starting to make their presence felt in Southwest Florida. From sludgy scum hugging Matlacha pilings...
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....
Originally published in The News-Press by Chad Gillis on April 22, 2020 A Southwest Florida city has turned to a reservoir in Charlotte County for irrigation water as drought conditions continue to plague the region. The city of Cape Coral is expected to start pumping...
Originally published in The Islander News by George White on April 23, 2020 Miami Waterkeeper was among the supporters of Florida’s waters participating in an interactive Earth Day Salute Wednesday broadcast on Zoom and Facebook Live. April 22 was the 50th anniversary...
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...
Originally published in The News-Press by Chad Gillis on April 16, 2020 Lawyers are still battling over a suit filed by environmental groups over the management of Lake Okeechobee, but a decision could come as soon as this summer. Several environmental groups filed a...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
‘Clean Waterways Act’ Passes Florida Senate; What Does it Mean for the State? Originally published by WINK News on March 10, 2020 Lawmakers are trying to make sure another water crisis doesn’t happen to our state again. A new bill aims to make our waterways cleaner...
Originally published in The Caloosa Belle by Danika J. Hooper on March 01, 2020 A plethora of festival-goers boarded the M/V River Queen for some exciting Caloosahatchee River Excursions that were again featured at this year’s Swamp Cabbage Festival thanks to the...
Letter sets record straight on flawed “Clean Waterways Act” Florida Springs Council, Florida Waterkeepers, and Sierra Club today responded to remarks by Florida’s Chief Science Officer, Thomas K. Frazer, Ph.D., regarding Senator Mayfield’s Senate Bill 712 (SB 712)....
Originally published in The Pine Island Eagle by Paulette LeBlanc on February 12, 2020 The Greater Pine Island Civic Association held its monthly meeting Feb. 4 at the Elks Club, and the group covered a number of topics from board candidates, to the Calusa...
As seen in a News-Press Op-Ed submitted by John Cassani, Calusa Waterkeeper Ineffective water quality legislation is the source of the age-old adage “the solution to pollution is dilution.” Apparently the dilution part it isn’t out of vogue with the Florida...
Originally published in The News-Press by Chad Gillis on February 07, 2020 The federal government set aside $200 million for Everglades restoration for 2020, but some South Florida environmental groups say it’s not enough to fix the ailing World Heritage Site....
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...
As seen in a TC Palm Op-Ed submitted by Dr. Walter Bradely and Calusa Waterkeeper Board Member, Howard Simon Floridians are well-aware of the acute environmental and health problems of harmful algal blooms and they are looking to their political representatives to...
Originally published in The Associated Press by Bobby Caina Calvan on January 22, 2020 The scum of blue-green algae was so thick and invasive in Florida two years ago that it suffocated fish by the thousands. Birds dropped dead. And people stayed out of the water....
Originally published in The News-Press by Chad Gillis on January 17, 2020 Lawmakers are pushing several bills this session that have regulatory implications as the state tries to rid its waters of blue-green algae and similar pollution. The recommendations came from...
