Officials have a better plan to identify, test and warn the public about toxic blooms - but is it enough? Are we ready for another toxic algae crisis? If this summer brings toxic algae blooms to the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee estuaries, are state agencies ready, willing and able to find the toxins and quickly warn the public? The need for early detection of and warnings for toxic blue-green algae blooms is crucial to the health and welfare of Floridians and our millions of visitors. But during previous algae crises officials warnings were hard to come by. The good news is that federal and state agencies are poised to collaborate more effectively next time in sampling, testing and warning the public about blooms. But as the annual blue-green algae bloom on Lake Okeechobee worsens, and the threat of toxic discharges persists, there's still lots of room for improvement. VoteWater Deep Dives take a deeper look at individual issues plaguing Florida waterways. Read our latest investigation to learn about how officials plan to identify toxic algae blooms — and what they'll do to warn the public to stay away. Read Now On our social: The blooms — and the anger — is growing Whew. We shared pics from the Calusa Waterkeeper's Facebook page of massive algal blooms on Lake Okeechobee — and people went berserk. It's an unsettling preview of the public anger that could worsen as the bloom intensify this summer. Check it out on our Facebook page On our blog: 'Sprawl bill' signed by Gov. DeSantis, will he let fertilizer ban stand? Despite a huge public campaign asking Gov. Ron DeSantis to veto SB 540, which saddles citizens who challenge a comprehensive plan amendment and lose with the other side's legal fees, he signed it anyway. Now attention shifts to a proposed one-year ban on fertilizer ordinances — what will DeSantis do? Check out our take. Read the blog post BECOME A MEMBER DONATE P.S. Signatures Needed! The "Right to Clean and Healthy Waters" petition needs 900,000 signature by November 30 to get on the 2024 ballot. The petition can be printed out and signed here: [link removed] VoteWater 3727 SE Ocean Blvd Suite 200-A Stuart, FL 34996 | (772) 212-2939 ‌ ‌ VoteWater | 3727 SE Ocean Blvd, Suite 200-A, Stuart, FL 34996 Unsubscribe [email protected] Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice Sent by [email protected] powered by Try email marketing for free today!