Blue-green algae remains present in parts of Southwest Florida Monday, and a water expert we spoke to hopes there could be a silver lining in the green, smelly gunk. Lawrence Glenn, the water resources division director of South Florida Water Management District, told us it might be a good thing we’re seeing algal blooms earlier […]
FWC to mechanically remove floating invasive plants in Lake Kissimmee
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), in cooperation with the South Florida Water Management District, is mechanically removing invasive floating plants and floating tussocks from the south end of Lake Kissimmee. The project is scheduled to continue through June.
Mechanical harvesters are being used to remove heavy mats of invasive floating plants and tussocks that are encroaching on the Highway 60 bridge and S-65 lock. The harvesters are working near the bridge and will move north, proactively removing invasive floating plants and tussocks that could move toward the structures.
Police union leader: 911 dispatchers may be exposed to asbestos
The leader of Palm Beach County’s police union is calling for nearly 100 dispatchers and radio operators to be moved from the sheriff’s office headquarters undergoing renovation work on Gun Club Road, saying the workers have been “forced to endure” potential exposure to hazardous materials like asbestos.
The “first responders of the first responders” have been working out of the sheriff’s office headquarters while it undergoes a $42 million renovation, most of which is paid for with sales tax dollars. The headquarters houses the central location for the county’s 911 communications.
Why was vote on Cayo Costa plan pulled? State is mum; advocates fear for island s environment
A Cayo Costa Island homeowner weighs in on tourism impact on parts of the island
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With no explanation, the Florida Department of Environmental has pulled Cayo Costa State Park’s management plan from a June meeting at which it was to have been voted upon. The plan has drawn heat from park supporters opposed to continued commercial use of a dock at the island’s southern end.
They say twice-daily dockings by large excursion boats damage sea grass, while the raked, root-pruned path used by their thousands of monthly passengers creates a channel through which water could rush in a storm, slicing the 9-mile-long barrier island in two.
Today’s entry:
Long time listener. I wanted to contact you to ask for an opportunity for you to review and report to your listener base the pros and cons of South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) becoming an Investor Owned Utility (IOU). As a conservationist, I am concerned with the sewage effluent/raw water suggestions being injected below our precious Floridian Aquifer. And as practical realist, I realize that the opportunity to have private companies manage projects means timelines and budgets will get met. I value hearing your analysis and hope you will consider offering your insight.
Bottom Line: Florida’s water wars are anything but new, but they continue to escalate. You have the multiple decade Florida-Georgia battle over the Apalachicola, growing concerns over the bottling of water in Florida’s springs and of course the mack daddy of them all. The one that starts at Lake O’ and ends where the Everglades do. Lake O’s toxic alga