

Donate



Report Pollution

Calusa Waterkeeper 30 Year Logo
  • About Us
  • Impact Programs
  • Learn The Issues
  • Education & Resources
  • News & Events
  • Join & Support Us
About Calusa Waterkeeper

Organization

A thumbnail photo of the Calusa Waterkeeper Board Members

Board & Team

Waterkeeper Alliance

Waterkeeper Alliance

Calusa_Waterkeeper_Organization

Contact Us

Water_Quality_Testing_Ft_Myers_Florida

Water & Air Testing

Clean Water Advocacy

Advocacy & Action

Calusa Waterkeeper Rangers

Ranger Program

Water Quality Documentaries

Documentary Film Series

Community_Collaboration

Community Collaboration

Harmful Algal Bloom

Harmful Algal Blooms

Lake O discharges

Lake Okeechobee Discharges

Bacteria Monitoring

Bacteria Monitoring

stormwater Estero Bay

Stormwater Management

More:

C-43 Reservoir

Caloosahatchee Oxbows

Cape Coral Spreader Canals

Florida Water Quality Status

Water Quality Status

Protect Your Piece of Paradise

Clean Water Tips Flier

Southwest Florida Water Quality Trends

SWFL Water Quality Trends

resource center

Resource Center

More:

Schedule a Speaker

Joe Cavanaugh being interviewed

In the News

Newsletter

Email Newsletter & Alerts

Calusa Waterkeeper Videos

Videos

A thumbnail photo at a Calusa Waterkepeer event

Event Calendar

More:

Media Request

Membership

Membership

Volunteer

Become a Volunteer

Sponsorship Opportunities Lee County

Sponsorship Opportunities

Water_Quality_Report

Give Today

BLOWN AWAY: East winds keep red tide off our shores – for now

BLOWN AWAY: East winds keep red tide off our shores – for now

by Calusa Waterkeeper | Dec 21, 2024 | Harmful Algal Blooms, Press

Originally published on Fox4 by Austin Schargorodski on December 21, 2024 Calusa Waterkeeper put out a red tide update, saying this season’s unpredictable weather is actually giving our coastline some relief. The organization said strong east winds have kept the...
Toxic red tide still being found offshore of Lee County, Collier

Toxic red tide still being found offshore of Lee County, Collier

by Calusa Waterkeeper | Dec 18, 2024 | Harmful Algal Blooms, Press

Originally published in the News-Press by Chad Gillis on December 19, 2024 Offshore winds have kept the bloom mostly away from local beaches and out in the open Gulf of Mexico. “There hasn’t been much visibly, mostly because of the wind,” said Calusa...
They fought for clean water in Florida; they got hammered with the lawyers’ bill

They fought for clean water in Florida; they got hammered with the lawyers’ bill

by Calusa Waterkeeper | Dec 14, 2024 | Cape Coral Spreader Canals, Featured, Press

Originally published in USA Today by Mary Kay Robbins-Kralapp and Howard Simon on December 14, 2024 In southwestern Florida, where the Caloosahatchee River empties into Pine Island Sound and Gulf of Mexico, three citizen advocates for clean water face crippling...
Winds help keep red tide at bay

Winds help keep red tide at bay

by Calusa Waterkeeper | Nov 28, 2024 | Harmful Algal Blooms, Press

Originally published on Boca Beacon by Anna Ridilla on November 28, 2024 Experts are still watching red tide, but with winds, and cooler weather, the area may escape a bad season. The Calusa Waterkeeper has been seeing fluctuating results for red tide amounts, said...
What are all the discharges about? The latest on Lake O

What are all the discharges about? The latest on Lake O

by Calusa Waterkeeper | Nov 27, 2024 | Lake Okeechobee, Policy, Press

Originally published in the News-Press by Chad Gillis on November 27, 2024 River advocates are concerned that too much fresh water could spoil the delicate estuary, which depends on the lake for fresh water during the dry season. The overall measurement for flows in...
Dangerous levels of fecal bacteria found in Lee County waterways

Dangerous levels of fecal bacteria found in Lee County waterways

by Calusa Waterkeeper | Nov 23, 2024 | Bacteria Monitoring, Featured, Press, Water Testing

Originally published on Fox 4 by Anvar Ruziev on November 23, 2024 A recent report from the Calusa Waterkeeper highlights alarming levels of fecal bacteria in many Lee County waterways. Among the locations tested, Manuel Branch, a canal that runs near Cleveland Avenue...
Calusa Waterkeeper Featured in HAB Special Report by Ocean Grants

Calusa Waterkeeper Featured in HAB Special Report by Ocean Grants

by Calusa Waterkeeper | Nov 18, 2024 | Harmful Algal Blooms, Press

Originally published by Ocean Grants on November 18, 2024 Harmful algal blooms have been at the center of Calusa Waterkeeper’s science-based advocacy initiatives exploring the impacts of water quality on human health, our economy, and quality of life. Originally...
There’s Something in the Water

There’s Something in the Water

by Calusa Waterkeeper | Nov 18, 2024 | Bacteria Monitoring, Featured, Press

Originally published by Bob Moro in the Nautical Mile on November 18, 2024 I know I speak for everyone at The Nautical Mile when I express my heartfelt sympathy for all in our community who have been battered by a succession of storms unprecedented in our history. I...
The Tropics and Red Tide; what happens if or when they interact?

The Tropics and Red Tide; what happens if or when they interact?

by Calusa Waterkeeper | Nov 4, 2024 | Harmful Algal Blooms, Press

Originally published on WINK News by Elizabeth Biro on November 4, 2024 A storm is churning and on track to make its way into the Gulf of Mexico. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission red tide map shows background to low concentrations of it offshore...
Calusa Waterkeeper Wins 2nd Place in the National Nonprofit of the Year Cox Conserves Heroes Awards Competition

Calusa Waterkeeper Wins 2nd Place in the National Nonprofit of the Year Cox Conserves Heroes Awards Competition

by Calusa Waterkeeper | Nov 1, 2024 | Press

Fort Myers, FL – November 1, 2024 – Calusa Waterkeeper, a passionate champion for clean water in Southwest Florida for nearly three decades, is honored to be recognized as the 2024 Cox Conserves Heroes 2nd Place Nonprofit of the Year Winner. This award...
Red tide showing up offshore, fecal indicator bacteria counts high after hurricanes

Red tide showing up offshore, fecal indicator bacteria counts high after hurricanes

by Calusa Waterkeeper | Oct 31, 2024 | Bacteria Monitoring, Featured, Press, Water Testing

Originally published in the News-Press by Chad Gillis on October 31, 2024 It’s a water quality double whammy. Southwest Florida waters are stained and potentially toxic as a red tide bloom rages offshore while freshwater bacteria levels are well above what the...
Calusa Nature Center and Calusa Waterkeeper Team Up

Calusa Nature Center and Calusa Waterkeeper Team Up

by Calusa Waterkeeper | Oct 29, 2024 | Press

Exciting Environmental Nonprofit Collaboration Brings Water to Life at the Nature Center. Fort Myers, FL – October 29, 2024 – Calusa Nature Center & Planetarium and Calusa Waterkeeper are excited to announce a new partnership that will enrich the...
Fecal bacteria could still be high in creeks, rivers after Helene.

Fecal bacteria could still be high in creeks, rivers after Helene.

by Calusa Waterkeeper | Oct 7, 2024 | Bacteria Monitoring, Featured, Press, Water Testing

Originally published in the News-Press by Chad Gillis on October 7, 2024 Chuck Avery grabbed a small glass jar and lid, attached it to the end of a pole and walked down the boat ramp at Koreshan State Historic Site in Estero. He scoops up water, three times, and dumps...
Calusa Waterkeeper to highlight ongoing severe fecal bacteria presence at Manuel’s Branch creek

Calusa Waterkeeper to highlight ongoing severe fecal bacteria presence at Manuel’s Branch creek

by Calusa Waterkeeper | Sep 11, 2024 | Bacteria Monitoring, Press, Water Testing

Originally published on WGCU by Tom Bayles on September 11, 2024 “We test water bodies throughout our jurisdiction and that has been one area that routinely comes back extremely high,” said Connie Ramos-Williams, the director of Calusa Waterkeeper. “When we see things...
New release plans for Lake O may reduce red tide in Gulf

New release plans for Lake O may reduce red tide in Gulf

by Calusa Waterkeeper | Sep 9, 2024 | Harmful Algal Blooms, Lake Okeechobee, Press

Originally published in Gulfshore Business by John Guerra on September 9, 2024 Under LOSOM, if there’s an active red tide in the Gulf and blue-green algae in the lake, the Army Corps can decide against releasing water from the 730-square-mile freshwater lake until...
Wastewater Overflow at Gasparilla Island Water Authority (Boca Grande)

Wastewater Overflow at Gasparilla Island Water Authority (Boca Grande)

by Calusa Waterkeeper | Sep 6, 2024 | Featured, Press, Stormwater

Originally published on Boca Beacon by Garland Pollard on September 6, 2024 A half-million gallons of rainy sewage leaked onto the Gasparilla Island Water Authority plant grounds after Hurricane Debby. The spill was at 2:05 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 5. It did not go into...
Fish kill in Matlacha over, waters cleared weeks after Tropical Storm Debby

Fish kill in Matlacha over, waters cleared weeks after Tropical Storm Debby

by Calusa Waterkeeper | Aug 30, 2024 | Harmful Algal Blooms, Press, Stormwater

Originally published in the Fort Myers News-Press by Chad Gillis on August 30, 2024 The waters in Matlacha Pass have cleared after post-Debby conditions caused a fish kill there. Tropical Storm Debby dropped several inches of rain across the region, and a lot of that...
Will we see Lake Okeechobee discharges this year to the Caloosahatchee? What to know

Will we see Lake Okeechobee discharges this year to the Caloosahatchee? What to know

by Calusa Waterkeeper | Aug 26, 2024 | Harmful Algal Blooms, Lake Okeechobee, Press

Originally published in the Fort Myers News-Press by Chad Gillis on August 26, 2024 Calusa Waterkeeper Codty Pierce said only time will tell how well LOSOM works for the Caloosahatchee River. “We have yet to see how things are going to react,” Pierce said....
What does potential changes to several Florida State Parks mean for SWFL?

What does potential changes to several Florida State Parks mean for SWFL?

by Calusa Waterkeeper | Aug 23, 2024 | Planning, Policy, Press

Originally published on Fox4 by Andrew Shipley on August 23, 2024 “If it starts to go into one place, even if this is on the opposite end of the coast from us, we have to really start thinking about the big picture,” said Codty Pierce, Calusa Waterkeeper...
Fecal bacteria continues to be found in extremely high levels in Lee County waters

Fecal bacteria continues to be found in extremely high levels in Lee County waters

by Calusa Waterkeeper | Aug 22, 2024 | Bacteria Monitoring, Featured, Press, Water Testing

Originally published on Fox4 by Andrew Shipley on August 22, 2024 Water is so important to us in Southwest Florida. Water not only feeds our economy, but it also gives us recreation. But what is in our water? Every month the Calusa Waterkeeper tests our water for...
What’s the state of our water? Answers come from stakeholders at chamber event

What’s the state of our water? Answers come from stakeholders at chamber event

by Calusa Waterkeeper | Aug 22, 2024 | Bacteria Monitoring, Featured, Press, Water Testing

Originally published in the Fort Myers News-Press by Amy Bennett Williams on August 22, 2024 Once a taken-for-granted bankable asset, Southwest Florida’s degraded water quality is now a critical, contentious topic.. Water issues here have people scrambling for...
They fought for clean water in Florida; they got hammered with the lawyers’ bill

State gives Cape permission to begin dismantling Chiquita Lock

by Calusa Waterkeeper | Aug 22, 2024 | Cape Coral Spreader Canals, Litigation, Press, Stormwater

Originally published in the News-Press by Chad Gillis on August 22, 2024 Some environmental groups and residents fought the city over the issue, saying removing the lock will impact endangered species like the smalltooth sawfish, which breed and live near the lock....
Fish kill in Matlacha over, waters cleared weeks after Tropical Storm Debby

Expert: Matlacha fish kills show what pollution, low oxygen levels can do to marine life

by Calusa Waterkeeper | Aug 15, 2024 | Harmful Algal Blooms, Press, Stormwater

Originally published in the Fort Myers News-Press by Chad Gillis on August 15, 2024 There’s a fish kill going on in Matlacha Pass, and some water experts think it’s due to a lack of oxygen in the water. Warm waters, the idea goes, have lowered oxygen...
New images show shocking water quality conditions in Matlacha Pass

New images show shocking water quality conditions in Matlacha Pass

by Calusa Waterkeeper | Aug 15, 2024 | Harmful Algal Blooms, Press, Stormwater

Originally published on NBC-2 by Rachel Whelan on August 15, 2024 New images from a local environmental organization are showing shocking water quality conditions off our coast. Calusa Waterkeeper Codty Pierce is documenting our water conditions in the wake of...
Hurricane Debby left poor water quality and fish kills along SWFL coast

Hurricane Debby left poor water quality and fish kills along SWFL coast

by Calusa Waterkeeper | Aug 14, 2024 | Featured, Harmful Algal Blooms, Press, Stormwater

Originally published on Fox4 by Andrew Shipley on August 14, 2024 A little over a week ago, Hurricane Debby dumped millions of gallons of water across Southwest Florida. Now question is what is in that water and what is it doing to our environment as it pushes out...
Tropical Storm Debby ecological impacts mount

Tropical Storm Debby ecological impacts mount

by Calusa Waterkeeper | Aug 14, 2024 | Featured, Harmful Algal Blooms, Press, Stormwater

Originally published in the Fort Myers News-Press by Chad Gillis on August 13, 2024 Tropical Storm Debby played out similar to National Weather Service forecasts for Southwest Florida with impacts to homes, businesses, roads and cars. And although nature has evolved...
What’s that Smell? Hundreds of dead fish on Matlacha after Debby

What’s that Smell? Hundreds of dead fish on Matlacha after Debby

by Calusa Waterkeeper | Aug 13, 2024 | Harmful Algal Blooms, Press, Water Testing

Originally published on Fox4 by Domingo Murray on August 13, 2024 “We’ve had dead fish at the shoreline, many times, not a whole lot… about a dozen times in 30 years,” he said. Tuesday morning Talbott called FOX4 about the issue, so we reached...
Calusa Waterkeeper now accepting students for fall ranger academy

Calusa Waterkeeper now accepting students for fall ranger academy

by Calusa Waterkeeper | Jul 27, 2024 | Featured, Press

Originally published on NBC-2 by Rachel Whelan on July 26, 2024 Participants who complete the academy will graduate as Rangers, equipped to conduct water and air quality testing as certified citizen scientists. They will also serve as ambassadors of Calusa...
Health Dept. cautions against making contact with local waterway

Health Dept. cautions against making contact with local waterway

by Calusa Waterkeeper | Jul 26, 2024 | Harmful Algal Blooms, Press

Originally published in the News-Press by Chad Gillis on July 26, 2024 Heavy rains bring nutrient inputs from Lake Okeechobee, the upper Caloosahatchee watershed (which is largely agriculture) and urbanized areas like Fort Myers and Cape Coral. The nutrients can feed...
Cypress Bend community appears to be leaking sewage to Estero River

Cypress Bend community appears to be leaking sewage to Estero River

by Calusa Waterkeeper | Jul 26, 2024 | Bacteria Monitoring, Press, Water Testing

‘Levels this high usually indicate sewage.’ Estero neighborhood grabbles with water problem Originally published in the Fort Myers News-Press by Chad Gillis on July 25, 2024 The Estero River is a designated Outstanding Florida Waterway with the highest...
« Older Entries
Next Entries »

Search News Posts

Recent News

  • Calusa Waterkeeper to host Pollution and Pragmatism: The Caloosahatchee Watershed at July State of Our Water Event
  • The fight for clean water continues
  • Alva residents worry over new housing plan’s strain on Fort Myers sewage
  • In the Spotlight: Calusa Waterkeeper, Joe Cavanaugh
  • Is the Caloosahatchee headed for an algae bloom? Some places already greening up

News Categories

  • Bacteria Monitoring (42)
  • C43 Reservoir (6)
  • Cape Coral Spreader Canals (20)
  • CWK Rangers (9)
  • Events (38)
  • Featured (300)
  • Harmful Algal Blooms (80)
  • Lake Okeechobee (40)
  • Litigation (14)
  • Matlacha Pass Water Quality (3)
  • Planning (17)
  • Policy (36)
  • Press (550)
  • Science (21)
  • Stormwater (39)
  • Uncategorized (5)
  • Water Testing (34)

Resource Center

  • Advocate Links
  • Agency Links
  • HAB Research
  • Public Advocacy
  • Ranger Library
  • Water Monitoring

CALUSA WATERKEEPER MISSION

To Protect and Restore the Caloosahatchee River from Lake Okeechobee to the Coastal Waters.
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow
WKA-Member-White

Calusa Waterkeeper
P.O. Box 1165
Ft. Myers, FL 33902



[email protected]



239-899-1440

candid-seal-platinum-2024
© 2025 Calusa Waterkeeper, Inc., All Rights Reserved | Site Credits