Florida's waterways have a nutrient problem. Undermining fertilizer bans could make it worse.

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It's just common sense.

The nitrogen and phosphorus in fertilizer is great for your lawn, but terrible if the summer rains wash it into your local waterway, where it can contribute to harmful algal blooms and other problems. So small wonder 18 counties and more than 100 municipalities across Florida have passed "strong" ordinances prohibiting the use of fertilizers containing nitrogen and phosphorus during the summer months.

But new studies purporting to show that these summertime bans don't work could prompt legislators to undermine these ordinances, even ban the summertime bans. That amounts to rolling the dice and wagering the results won't inflict even more harm on our fragile waters.

And that's a bet Florida can't afford to take. Read more in today's blog post.

ICYMI: Who's buying off our politicians?

The Dirty Money Project will find out

As a VoteWater supporter, you know dirty money = dirty water. Campaign cash from polluting industries buys influence in the halls of power and results in laws that protect polluters at the expense of clean water.

That's why our “Dirty Money Project” will dig into campaign finance data at the federal, state and county level in St. Lucie, Martin, Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Collier and Lee counties, to see how much campaign cash elected officials are getting, from whom — and how this affects water policy.

We believe if citizens know the truth about “dirty money,” they’ll demand cleaner politicians — and that means cleaner water.

So stay tuned. And please consider donating to VoteWater; your support can help us make “dirty money” so toxic even dirty politicians won’t touch it.

Our friends at Friends of the Everglades have posted a helpful video documenting conditions on Lake Okeechobee and noting some "hopeful news": the lake isn't rising as quickly as it was, and the size of the algal bloom on the lake has diminished. But large-scale discharges to the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers remains a distinct - and damaging - possibility.

Our Facebook post of a WUSF story on how Lake Okeechobee is 30 inches higher this year than it was this time last year with the peak of hurricane season still to come generated some heat, with dozens of respondents pointing fingers and demanding solutions.

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/