Dirty money = dirty water.

So we're taking a closer look.

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As a VoteWater supporter, you know dirty money = dirty water. Campaign cash from polluting industries buys influence in Tallahassee, Washington, D.C., even your local county commission chambers. This results in laws that protect polluters and prevent progress on clean water.

You know that some of Florida's most powerful politicians have gotten tons of money from polluting interests. And we've reported on how political action committees help polluters cloak the true scope of their political giving and influence.

Now we're digging even deeper.

Introducing the “Dirty Money Project,” an initiative designed to dig into campaign finance data at the federal, state and county level in eight key South Florida counties (St. Lucie, Martin, Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Collier and Lee) so you can see how much campaign cash elected officials are getting, from whom — and how this affects public policy on clean water.

Once we’ve compiled and analyzed the data we’ll make it available on the web; we want to create a definitive resource for voters, the media and others interested in transparency. We believe if citizens know the truth about “dirty money,” they’ll demand cleaner politicians — and that means cleaner water.

So stay tuned for more details. And please consider donating to VoteWater; your support can help underwrite the project — and help us make “dirty money” so toxic even dirty politicians won’t touch it.

Super-toxic algae in Indiantown; a preview of the next crisis?

When the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released water from Lake Okeechobee into the C44 canal to raise the water level for navigation, they also released toxic blue-green algae.

Now the toxic gunk is coagulating near the boat ramp at Timer Powers Park, where state sampling found 800 micrograms per liter of microcystin, a potent toxin. That's 100 times the level the EPA considers safe. Accordingly, the Department of Health in Martin County issued a Health Alert.

Meanwhile, communities along the Caloosahatchee have been struggling with toxic algae blooms for several months, apparently triggered by low-volume releases from the lake. Now the lake stands at 15.31 feet; if it hits 16.5 feet both the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie could see high-volume releases — meaning what's happening at Timer Powers Park could be a preview of a full-blown crisis to come.

There's no instant fix for this, but there is something officials could do — as we noted in this recent newsletter.

Our friends at Friends of the Everglades visited the nation's capitol last month, meeting with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to talk sugar reform. And they made a persuasive argument, backed by the thousands of Floridians who've signed the petition demanding an end to special favors for Big Sugar. Check out the report, and while you're there, sign the petition!

Our special report last week revisited the trauma and anger of the 2013 "Lost Summer" in Martin County, when discharges and toxic algae from Lake Okeechobee changed a community. A decade later there's been a lot done — but we've still got far to go.

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: http://www.floridarighttocleanwater.org/