Jenna Buzzacco-Foerster
Lizbeth Benacquisto is calling on the Department of Environmental Protection to step up its efforts to ensure clean water is flowing through the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie rivers’ estuaries.
In a letter to DEP Secretary Jon Steverson, the Fort Myers Republican urges the agency to work with the South Florida Water Management District and other to modify regulation schedules and keep water quality standards as high as possible.
“Recently I have become concerned by the department’s response to clean water issues,” she said in the letter.
Benacquisto said a recent algae bloom in the Caloosahatchee River led Lee County to shut down its water treatment plant. However, she said the DEP’s sampling and reporting “was so limited that it found no risk of algae blooms despite contrary evidence.”
According to a May 29 article in the Fort Myers News-Press, Lee County health officials recommended people use caution before exposing themselves to Caloosahatchee River water. The newspaper reported that photos taken by Lee County staff showed algae at the W.P. Franklin Lock and Dam, as well as at the Olga Water Treatment Plant intake pump.
The blue-green algae first started blooming near Lake Okeechobee, before spreading into the Caloosahatchee River, according to the News-Press.
“Our state needs a Department of Environmental Protection that will strongly respond to releases from Lake Okeechobee,” she said in her letter. “I urge the department to work with the South Florida Water Management District as well as Florida Fish and Wildlife to modify the regulation schedules of the Holey Land and Rotenberger Wildlife Areas to allow more water storage during both the wet and dry seasons south of Lake Okeechobee. Reducing flows from Lake Okeechobee to the east and west should be the primary goal of all concerned agencies at a time like this.”
The releases have been a concern for lawmakers, residents and businesses owners in Southwest Florida and on the Treasure Coast for months. Earlier this year, Gov. Rick Scott declared a state of emergency after the Army Corps of Engineers began releasing water down the rivers.
Benacquisto also said the DEP should keep water quality standards “as high as possible” to protect Floridians.
One comment
Bob V.
June 9, 2016 at 3:13 pm
And why would we possibly expect that the Scott administration would favor strong water quality standards?
Voting is the only power we have left.
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