When it comes to water projects,

Florida needs to get organized

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Did you know that for all the money being spent on water quality projects in Florida, the state has no comprehensive, authoritative list of which projects should get priority in terms of funding and start date?

And wouldn’t it be better — for the environment, and for taxpayers — if the state had a more efficient process for reviewing, approving, prioritizing and funding projects, to ensure the biggest bang for the buck?

That’s the provocative question posed in a new report from the nonprofit Florida TaxWatch, which calls on the state to develop a “comprehensive, coordinated, multi-year statewide plan for selecting and funding water projects,” similar to the process by which the state prioritizes transportation dollars.

On the surface it makes a lot of sense — though it may be easier said than done. But Florida’s water problems aren’t going away; given this, we’ve got to develop a more systematic approach, if those problems are ever going to be solved.

For a closer look at the new report and what it could mean, check out our blog.

Earlier this week the state's Harmful Algal Bloom Task Force discussed how low levels of dissolved oxygen resulted in "fairly extensive fish kills" in the Indian River Lagoon.

This occurred at the same time as algal blooms proliferated and spread further south than usual, all the way into the central lagoon. There's a connection, of course; as algae decomposes, it can reduce the water’s oxygen levels enough to suffocate fish; and the hotter the water, the less dissolved oxygen it's able to hold. And as Indian River Lagoon Coalition Chairman Craig Wallace acknowledged, this year the water was "hotter than hell."

Not a good sign — and an argument for even more urgency as state funding for lagoon water projects is increased.

As noted by our friends at Friends of the Everglades, another sugarcane burning season has begun in the Glades — meaning more fires, more smoke, more respiratory problems, more injustice. Other sugar-producing countries have ditched the practice, but here Big Sugar continues to expose Glades residents to harm, with no peep from the state of Florida.

But Friends won't remain so quiet; join Executive Director Eve Samples, Palm Beach Post journalist Antigone Barton and Stop the Burn advocates Christine Louis Jeune and Patrick Ferguson for a livestream discussion from noon-1 p.m on Wednesday, Oct. 25, on the impacts and the path toward a solution. 

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/