As discharges hammer the estuaries, sawfish are dying, "Dirty Money" is flowing an new fertilizer rules could further boost nutrient pollution     Florida's water quality is hurting - and we're making it worse! Week two of discharges from Lake Okeechobee to the “northern estuaries,” and the St. Lucie, Caloosahatchee and Lake Worth Lagoon are getting clobbered — just look: This aerial pic was taken by Ed and Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch high over the St. Lucie Inlet. The water's a grotesque dark brown, salinity levels are plummeting, and water quality in the South Fork of the St. Lucie got an “F” grade from the Florida Oceanographic Society. And we’ve only just begun. This is what a rigged system looks like. Ask yourself: How is it that the vast sugarcane operations of the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) continue to enjoy ideal growing conditions, even as our estuaries look like this? And if you haven’t seen it yet, check out this video from VoteWater Executive Director Gil Smart for more on how this rigged system is designed to keep Big Sugar high and dry while everyone else drowns in dirty water. DONATE TO VOTEWATER Mining giant dug deep for lawmakers as useful bill loomed Meanwhile, go right now to the Friends of the Everglades website and demand lawmakers oppose Florida House Bill 789 and Senate Bill 736, both of which are a testament to how “dirty money” — political contributions from polluters — infects our politics. A blockbuster piece from investigative reporter Jason Garcia last weekend detailed how phosphate mining giant Mosaic doled out $109,000 to lawmakers' political committees the day before Florida's Legislative session began. It turns out HB 789/SB 738 might be very useful to Mosaic by amending Florida's Water Quality Assurance Act and making it harder to hold polluters accountable. The money went to at least 27 legislators' committees — including $5,000 to "Heavens to Oceans," a committee associated with Rep. Toby Overdorf, House sponsor of HB 789. For more on the story — and the list of lawmakers who got Mosaic money — read more on our web site. READ MORE AT VOTEWATER.ORG   What's killing sawfish in the Lower Keys? Some 17 endangered sawfish have turned up dead in the backcountry waters of the Lower Keys in recent months and no one knows what’s killing them. More than a dozen other species of fish have been seen behaving strangely — whirling, spinning and swimming upside down. The only clue so far: elevated levels of ciguatera, a single-cell algae that grows naturally on reefs. Fish can safely eat it, though people who eat the fish can become sick. But scientists are now wondering if — or why — the naturally occurring toxin might suddenly be poisoning fish. We’ll keep you posted on this. But while we don’t know the specific culprit, in a broader sense we know exactly why this is happening: It’s the result of the systemic pollution and mismanagement of our waterways. Clean water still doesn’t flow south in sufficient quantities; special interests like Big Sugar still call the shots; and all the pumps and pipes of new infrastructure projects like the EAA Reservoir won’t come online for years if not decades. What will be left of Florida Bay by then? For more on the story, visit our website at VoteWater.org. READ MORE AT VOTEWATER.ORG More farm fertilizer could be the death knell Meanwhile, the state’s proposed budget is likely to include $6 million for the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences to conduct a study and determine fertilizer rate recommendations — but the study does not take into account the impact increased fertilizer use is likely to have on Florida’s waters. Currently the research is designed to maximize yield; but we know agricultural pollution is a major source of water pollution (see our report from last year, “Big Ag’s big pollution is a big problem for Florida"). A coalition of 23 Florida conservation groups wrote to Florida Senate and House leaders to lay out concerns about the fertilizer study and other budget-related issues; as VoteWater Executive Director Gil Smart noted in an accompanying press release, “These new rules absolutely must take the impact on water quality into account, because if the regulations result in more nutrient runoff, it could be game over for Florida's fragile waterways." BECOME A MEMBER DONATE 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!