Originally published in The News-Press by Amy Bennett Williams on July 19, 2019 There’s no doubt flesh-eating disease is one of the scariest-sounding threats out there, and as summer heats up, Vibrio vulnificus is back in the news. But should it be? Though it’s...
Originally published by FOX4 News on July 15, 2019 John Cassani flew in a small airplane over Moore Haven on Saturday and noticed the Moore Haven lock was open. “The lock was wide open. Which means the water can leave the lake and come into the river directly through...
Originally published in The News-Press by Amy Bennett Williams on July 12, 2019 Earlier this week, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers acknowledged it has released water from Lake Okeechobee into the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie rivers that has contained toxic...
Originally published by WINK News on July 09, 2019 Enter at your own risk – that is one woman’s message tonight as she fears a stretch of the Estero River is polluted with waste and sewage that can make people sick. Florida Department of Environmental Protection calls...
Originally published in Sanibel-Captiva Islander by CJ Haddad on July 9, 2019 For Southwest Florida, summer months can mean heat, afternoon rain and, as Southwest Florida saw all too well last year, harmful algal blooms. Calusa Waterkeeper’s Florida Water Summit...
Originally published by FOX4 News on July 08, 2019 Holley Rauen, a retired nurse and now volunteer at the Happehatchee Center in Estero warns a man about the contaminated water as he passes by on his kayak. She said she’s been on edge ever since a kids’ summer camp...
Originally published in The Tampa Bay Times by Craig Pittman on July 08, 2019 Blue-green algae is popping up all over Florida this summer. It’s in the canals of Gulfport and the Intracoastal Waterway in Treasure Island. In Bradenton, the Manatee River has turned...
Originally published in The News-Press by Amy Bennett Williams on July 7, 2019 The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is now warning boaters about toxic cyanobacteia, also called blue-green algae, in Lake Okeechobee and the 154-mile Okeechobee Waterway, which includes the...
Originally published in The News-Press by Amy Bennett Williams on June 27, 2019 Normally, summer camp at Estero’s Happehatchee Center would end with a splash party — canoe races and a water fight in the village’s namesake river. Not this year. “As a nurse, I am...
Originally published by WINK News on June 26, 2019 Waterways are contaminated with fecal matter, including creeks and rivers that are in some neighbors backyards. Anna Vasquez lives right on Billy’s Creek. She worries about people who consume fish and get into the...
Originally published in The News-Press by Chad Gillis on June 25, 2019 The state is moving forward with a plan to clean up pollution in the Caloosahatchee River and its estuary nearly a decade after the standards were adopted. Florida Department of Environmental...
Originally published in The News-Press by Amy Bennett Williams on June 25, 2019 After months of uphill battle, a recent Calusa Waterkeeper public health town hall started with a victory. As he took the stage at Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre in Fort Myers on Monday...
Originally published by WINK News on June 24, 2019 Experts gathered at a Florida water quality summit to speak about harmful blue-green algal blooms in our waterways regarding health hazards and other dangers the green muck poses in our area. Scientists who spoke at...
Originally published by FOX4 News on June 22, 2019 Toxic blue-green algae is slowly creeping back in to our waterway. And although we aren’t see thick green mattes like last summer, people in the community are still doing their part to educate others on the impacts....
Originally published in The News-Press by Chad Gillis on June 19, 2019 The beginning of the rainy season brings with it a concentrated blast of nutrient-rich waters to rivers, lakes and bays as heavy rains wash off months of built-up pollution. It’s called the...
An Op-Ed written by Jaclyn Lopez and originally published in The Orlando Sentinel on June 18, 2019 Like a summer rerun of “The Return of Swamp Thing,” Floridians re-awakened in recent days to our own annual horror show: The return of highly toxic blue-green algae. But...
Originally published by WGCU Media by Mike Kiniry & Julie Glenn on June 17, 2019 High volume releases of nutrient-rich, and blue-green algae laden water from Lake Okeechobee last summer led to massive algae blooms along the Caloosahatchee River, in Cape Coral...
Originally published in The News-Press by Chad Gillis on June 15, 2019 A government watchdog organization says the state is purposely misrepresenting information about drinking water facility violations, reporting a high rate of compliance while the numbers are...
Op-Ed submitted by K.C. Schulberg, Executive Director of Calusa Waterkeeper and published by Florida Weekly on June 12, 2019. What is going on with our water, and what is the potential risk to human health? The summer of 2018 brought historic, unprecedented and...
Originally published by NBC-2 News on June 12, 2019 Environmental groups have filed a lawsuit against the Lake Okeechobee water releases. “Try to bring urgency to the situation with Lake Okeechobee discharges,” said Calusa Waterkeeper John Cassani. Cassani...
Originally published by The Cape Coral Daily Breeze on June 12, 2019 The Calusa Waterkeeper invites the public and healthcare professionals to a public water summit on Monday, June 24, about the health effects of harmful algal blooms. The event, called “Public...
Originally published in The Center Square by John Haughey on June 12, 2019 The summer’s first blue-green algae blooms on Lake Okeechobee were documented by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection [DEP] last week, including a June 5 manifestation that...
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 by FOX4 News on May 9, 2019 Today is the 17th annual World Oceans Day, and community members gathered to celebrate the occasion. With a little music and a few beers at Millennial Brewing in Downtown Fort Myers, activists were hoping to spread the...
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 by FOX4 News on June 6, 2019 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...
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...
