Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis continues to untie the strings on the big bag of taxpayer dollars to pay for water-quality improvements statewide.
DeSantis, also a presidential candidate who came in second in the Iowa Caucuses on Monday to former president Donald Trump, has announced more than $340 million in grants to cities and counties throughout Florida in recent months.
Add to that the latest $10 million for innovations that DeSantis said will mitigate the effects and impacts of harmful algal blooms, including red tide and blue-green algae.
“Florida’s beaches and waterways play a large role in our state’s economy, and it is important to continue making investments that protect them from harmful algal blooms,” DeSantis said last week. “These technologies will help improve the state’s ability to combat harmful algal blooms and protect the livelihoods of Floridians who depend on Florida’s beaches and waterways to make a living.”
Harmful algal blooms such as red tide occur naturally, but studies show they can be made to grow stronger and last longer when there are excessive nutrients present, fouling beaches with dead fish and producing toxins that harm fish, mammals, and even people when wave action causes the toxins to go airborne and create an acrid odor.
The $10 million will help pay for 10 innovations in Central and South Florida, including two involving Lake Okeechobee, the largest lake in Florida that has been polluted by industrial-scale agricultural runoff containing phosphorus and nitrogen.
Florida Atlantic University is receiving nearly $400,000 to help develop a way to use high-frequencies to monitor nutrients in the sediments, and the South Florida Water Management District will get $1.5 million to develop ways to keep phosphorus and nitrogen from entering Lake O from Taylor Creek.
The millions announced last week follow three other water-quality improvement grants totaling $340 million to reduce the prevalence of nutrients in Florida’s waterways.
Last week, DeSantis announced a $30 million effort to both reduce blue-green algae in Caloosahatchee River and to increase the overall water quality in its watershed.
Created by an influx of nutrient-rich water from Lake Okeechobee coupled with warm temperatures, the stinky green mess brought calls from residents and lawmakers to address both the immediate threats and the underlying causes of the river's deteriorating health.
Contributing to nutrient pollution are agriculture, septic tanks, aging sewer systems, and stormwater runoff containing the detritus of everyday life.
Last month, DeSantis allocated $210 million for 27 water quality improvement projects throughout the state designed to reduce nutrient pollution in Florida’s waterways.
The improvements include helping homeowners with septic tanks connect to municipal sewer systems, upgrades to wastewater treatment plants, and improvements to stormwater infrastructure.
Four of the 27 projects are in Southwest Florida, three of which are septic-to-sewer conversions including $25 million for Cape Coral, and nearly $1 million for two others in Bonita Springs.
The fourth allocates $4 million for the City of LaBelle to build an advanced wastewater treatment facility in Hendry County.
Late last year, DeSantis also earmarked $100 million for 21 projects designed to reduce the amount of nutrient pollution flowing into the Indian River Lagoon on Florida’s East Coast. Since 2019, the state has awarded nearly $390 million to improve water quality in the greater Indian River region.
“The Indian River Lagoon is one of the state’s most iconic waterways,” said Shawn Hamilton, secretary of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. “And we are committed to meeting the challenges it faces head-on.”
Environmental reporting for WGCU is funded in part by VoLo Foundation, a non-profit with a mission to accelerate change and global impact by supporting science-based climate solutions, enhancing education, and improving health.
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