How Much Nitrogen Pollution is on Our Waterways? Originally published by FOX4 News on December 21, 2023 While people love living along the canals in Cape Coral, recently the question was raised, “how much nutrient pollution is actually getting into these canals?”...
Originally published by Cape Coral Breeze on December 21, 2023 by CJ Haddad A hearing to determine whether the state should issue a permit allowing the city of Cape Coral to remove the Chiquita Lock concluded Wednesday afternoon. The next steps will be post-hearing...
Originally published by The Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation on December 18, 2023 The hearing to remove the Chiquita Lock in Cape Coral resumed on Dec. 18. The hearing was continued after extensive questioning of experts concerning the water pollution generated...
Originally published by The News-Press on November 22, 2023 by Chad Gillis Some environmental advocates and researchers are concerned that a detrimental change may be planned for the Estero Bay Aquatic Preserve, which has been under state protections since 1966. The...
Originally published by Sanibel Captiva Island Reporter, Islander & Current on November 14, 2023 Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation partners who are fighting the removal of the Chiquita Lock in Cape Coral have been granted the opportunity to move forward and...
The Fight Over the Chiquita Lock Removal is Heading to Trial Originally published by FOX4 News on November 10, 2023 The fight over the removal of Chiquita Lock is heading to trial, with Administrative Law Judge Suzanne Van Wyk ruling that the lawsuit can proceed. This...
Originally published by The News-Press on November 2, 2023 by Luis Zambrano After a startling dropout by several high-profile Southwest nonprofits, the challenge to keep Cape Coral’s Chiquita Boat Lock, a nearly 50-year-old manmade barrier, in operation moves...
Calusa Waterkeepers Create Oyster Gardens to Aid Water Quality Originally published by FOX4 News on October 9, 2023 You may be keeping our waterways cleaner the next time you order oysters at dinner. The Calusa Waterkeepers, a non-profit organization, has been...
Originally published by The News-Press on September 29, 2023 by Amy Bennett Williams Don’t go in the water warns Lee County’s health department: There’s too much fecal bacteria and it might make you sick. According to routine tests Thursday, Bowditch...
A recent News-Press article (“Well-known FGCU professor accused of downplaying blue-green algae by water advocate”) overlooks the principal barrier to public understanding of Florida’s persistent blue-green algae – the calibration of exposure to risk....
Originally published by Conservancy of Southwest Florida on September 14, 2023. Our nearshore waters are crying for help, but are we listening? In Lee County, many are familiar with the impact that Lake Okeechobee discharges and basin runoff have on the Caloosahatchee...
Originally published by Florida Phoenix on September 14, 2023 and written by Craig Pittman. Blooms of pollution-fueled blue-green algae — known among scientists as “cyanobacteria” — have become a perpetual problem all over Florida. It’s gotten to the point where we’ve...
Originally published by Cape Coral Daily Breeze on September 7, 2023 The League of Women Voters of Lee County will be holding a LWVLee Educational Event called Clean Water in Lee County: Issues, Solutions and Actions on Saturday, Oct. 7, from 9 to 11 a.m. The event...
Op-Ed column originally published by Tampa Bay Times on September 1, 2023 and written by Joseph Bonasia Some good climate news for a change: A Montana judge has ruled as unconstitutional a Montana law that prohibited state agencies from considering environmental...
Originally published by The News-Press on August 27, 2023 by Luis Zambrano Several high-profile groups and nonprofits bowed out of a legal challenge to keep Cape Coral’s Chiquita Boat Lock, a nearly 50-year-old manmade barrier, in operation, citing fears of...
Originally published by The News-Press on August 17, 2023 by Chad Gillis A Caloosahatchee River water advocate says a Florida Gulf Coast University professor is endangering public health by downplaying the ongoing blue-green algae outbreak in Lake Okeechobee and the...
Originally published by Florida Weekly on August 10, 2023 and written by Roger Williams. When Susan Bennett, born and raised in Fort Myers, stared into the Caloosahatchee River seven stories below the balcony of her downtown home one recent morning, the potentially...
Op-Ed originally published by The News-Press on August 6, 2023 and written by Matt DePaolis, Environmental Policy Director for the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation (SCCF) Something needs to be done about the Chiquita Lock. The lock was designed to prevent Cape...
Originally published by WINK News on August 3, 2023 The Cape Coral city council has approved $300,000 to be used in the continuing fight against algal blooms. The money will be used to purchase additional bubble curtains and continued water treatments. In multiple...
Originally published by The News-Press on July 28, 2023 by Chad Gillis Calusa Waterkeeper Codty Pierce says even small amounts of Lake Okeechobee water will infect the Caloosahatchee River with toxic blue-green algae blooms. Small amounts of water are coming from the...
Originally published by WINK News on July 26, 2023 Water infested with blue-green algae is not safe to swim in, play in or drink because of harmful toxins. Although, far less is known about what’s in the air regarding those same algae outbreaks. Nevertheless, one...
Originally published by WINK News on July 21, 2023 Water releases aren’t expected anytime soon directly from Lake Okeechobee, according to the Army Corps of Engineers. Nevertheless, blue-green algal blooms are present on the lake, in the Caloosahatchee and along...
Originally published by The News-Press on July 20, 2023 by Chad Gillis A toxic blue-green algae bloom that’s been drifting around downtown Fort Myers has now spread to other areas, including the Cape Coral Yacht Club. “We do have an (air testing) unit near...
Originally published by The News-Press on July 14, 2023 by Chad Gillis A toxic blue-green algae bloom appears to be strengthening its grip on the Caloosahatchee River, as green slicks of the organisms are visible in downtown Fort Myers. “I’ve been seeing...
Originally published by WINK News on June 7, 2023 WINK News has spoken with many Cape Coral residents to address some pressing questions surrounding bubble curtains, which are aimed at reducing algae entering our canal system from the Caloosahatchee River. Are they...
Originally published by Pine Island Eagle on June 7, 2023 This month out of the 30 sites throughout the watershed tested by the Calusa Waterkeeper, 23% passed and 77% failed. One of the newest sites continues to unveil high FIB numbers — North Fort Myers Riverbend...
Originally published by WGCU News on June 3, 2023 We meet the new Collier County Waterkeeper, Ray Bearfield. Bearfield is a former fishing guide and educator at Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, who first came to Naples in the mid-1970s as an editor of...
Originally published by The News-Press on June 23, 2023 by Chad Gillis Health official confirmed Friday that a blue-green algae outbreak in the Caloosahatchee River is toxic to humans and animals. “A bloom occurs when rapid growth of algae leads to an...
Originally published by NBC-2 News on June 18, 2023 Robert Halgrim was in his backyard canal off McGregor Boulevard collecting water from the Caloosahatchee River. He thinks it has been matted with blue green algae. Halgrim said, “I’ve had it bad enough back here that...
Originally published by The News-Press on June 15, 2023 by Amy Bennett Williams From Naples to Lake Okeechobee and along the Caloosahatchee in between, algae is troubling Southwest Florida. A bloom currently coats more than 350 square miles of the lake; scientists...
