Georgia wins 8-year water fight with downstream neighbor Florida wtbx.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from wtbx.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
WHETHER YOU LOVE OR HATE MANATEES, the sudden spike in manatee deaths this winter should cause concern for all Florida residents and visitors. While the images of dead manatees are shocking, their deaths are actually a symptom of a much larger ecosystem problem that imperils multiple facets of Florida’s economy.
The manatee mortality numbers this winter are largely driven by a die-off of seagrass meadows in the Indian River Lagoon (IRL) on Florida’s east coast. Seagrasses serve as the manatees’ primary food source, so many of the manatees wintering in the IRL are starving to death. But seagrass beds do far more for Florida than just feed manatees. According to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s website, seagrass improves water clarity by anchoring bottom sediments and provides shelter and food for juvenile redfish, sea trout, shrimp, bay scallops, crabs, lobsters and other species.
Wastewater is leaking from an old phosphate plant in Manatee County. The company in charge of the property says there is nothing it can do to prevent a catastrophic failure, so Florida environmental officials gave it the green light to release some of the water into Tampa Bay. Environmental advocates say it is a threat to the area.
Environmentalists concerned about wastewater release in Manatee County snntv.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from snntv.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Broward County’s way of treating its wastewater the leftovers from sinks, toilets, showers and washing machines needs fixes to make sure that polluted water doesn’t ever leak into our drinking water supply, the state says.