by Calusa Waterkeeper | Oct 18, 2019 | Featured, Harmful Algal Blooms, Press, Science
As seen in a News-Press OpEd submitted by John Cassani & Howard Simon, Calusa Waterkeeper, October 18, 2019 After the last prolonged outbreak of red tide and blue-green algae, it seemed every politician vowed to “do something.” The spin from the last session was...
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 | Oct 5, 2019 | Press, Uncategorized, Water Testing
Originally published by FOX4 News on October 4, 2019 A new report was released about a popular beach spot on Pine Island contains high levels of fecal bacteria. The levels are so high, it’s almost nine times the health department’s threshold for closing a...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Oct 4, 2019 | Featured, Press
As seen in a News-Press OpEd submitted by John Cassani, Calusa Waterkeeper, October 4, 2019 The growing but little-known water quality and public health problem that won’t seem to go away is that fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) contamination has become widespread in...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Sep 4, 2019 | Featured, Press
Periodically,The Island Sand Paper asks a community leader “6 Questions.” In this edition, K.C. Schulberg, Executive Director for Calusa Waterkeeper, discusses their new film, “Troubled Waters,” and our area’s water quality. After an extensive career in filmmaking and...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Aug 30, 2019 | Press
Originally published in The News-Press by Amy Bennett Williams on August 30, 2019 When Florida’s blue-green algae task force meets next, public health will be first on the agenda. Hurricane Dorian postponed the scientists’ Friday’s meeting in Gainesville,...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Aug 27, 2019 | Press
Originally published in The News-Press by Chad Gillis on August 27, 2019 Tannin-stained waters are blasting out of some Southwest Florida passes as rain water continues to wash off the watershed and into the Gulf of Mexico. Water quality scientists and others worry...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Aug 21, 2019 | Events, Featured, Press
Originally published in The News-Press by Chad Gillis, Amy Bennett Williams and Karl Schneider on August 21, 2019 Hundreds of politicians, business leaders, agency heads and environmental advocates met Wednesday in Bonita Springs to try to find solutions to Southwest...
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 11, 2019 | Featured, Press
Originally published in Florida Today by Chad Gillis of the Fort Myers News-Press on August 11, 2019 The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released higher volumes of water this past spring to keep Lake Okeechobee levels lower in case of a blue-green algal bloom. Some say...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Aug 7, 2019 | Featured, Press
Originally published in The News-Press by Amy Bennett Williams on August 7, 2019 It wasn’t billed as a horror movie, but “Troubled Waters” drew its share of gasps from a sold-out audience at its Monday night premiere. Calusa Waterkeeper’s new documentary explores last...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Aug 6, 2019 | Press
Originally published by WINK News on August 5, 2019 How does algae impact your health? On Monday evening, scientists, health officials and clean water activists talked to many of you about what the green gunk we saw last year does to your body. On Monday night, there...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Aug 1, 2019 | Press
Originally published in The News-Press by Chad Gillis on August 1, 2019 U.S. Sugar filed a lawsuit Thursday in federal court against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, saying the Army Corps is violating its own regulations and the National Environmental Policy Act....
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Jul 31, 2019 | Featured, Press
NBC-2.com WBBH News for Fort Myers, Cape Coral & Naples, Florida Originally published by NBC2 News on July 31, 2019 The Army Corps of Engineers posted signs warning people of potential blue-green algae at Franklin Lock in Olga. It’s something Calusa...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Jul 29, 2019 | Featured, Press
Originally published in Becker’s Hopsital Review by Kelly Gooch on July 29, 2019 Healthcare providers have a new medical code to document illnesses related to red tide or blue-green algae, according to usatoday.com. The new code, Z77.121, aims to help quantify...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Jul 19, 2019 | Press
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...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Jul 16, 2019 | Lake Okeechobee, Press
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...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Jul 12, 2019 | Featured, Lake Okeechobee, Press
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...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Jul 9, 2019 | Press
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...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Jul 9, 2019 | Press
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...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Jul 9, 2019 | Featured, Press, Water Testing
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...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Jul 8, 2019 | Press
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...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Jul 7, 2019 | Lake Okeechobee, Press
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...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Jun 27, 2019 | Featured, Press
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...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Jun 26, 2019 | Bacteria Monitoring, Press
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...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Jun 25, 2019 | Press
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...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Jun 25, 2019 | Events, Featured, Press
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...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Jun 24, 2019 | Events, Press
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...
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Jun 22, 2019 | Press
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....
by Calusa Waterkeeper | Jun 19, 2019 | Press
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...
