Tell the Army 

Corps to stop the discharges!

TAKE ACTION: Complete this letter 

to Col. Brandon Bowman with

the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers;

or email Bowman at [email protected]

Dubious rock mine/water storage plan moves forward in the EAA

Hey, remember that proposal to build a rock mine… er, “water resource project”... in the Everglades Agricultural Area?

Sure you do. Phillips & Jordan, the prime contractor for several massive reservoir projects in the region, is pitching an unsolicited plan to take 8,600 acres now in sugarcane production and turn it into a rock mine… er, “water resource project.”

The land, now owned by U.S. Sugar and Okeelanta Corp. (parent company of Florida Crystals) would be dug out, the rock sold to support state road-building and the profits accruing to the sugar companies. The resulting hole would be turned into storage for up to 120,000 acre-feet of water.

And that would be good, right? We need more storage south of the lake, right?

Problem is, this project has more red flags than a matador convention.

Everglades restoration is supposed to be a carefully considered process, not something driven by an immediate opportunity for profit.

We break down the rationale behind the plan and its implications in our latest blog post — check it out by clicking the button below.

Progress in the fight against red tide?

So Florida's Harmful Algal Bloom Task Force (not the Blue-Green Algae Task Force, but one tasked with studying and recommending strategies to fight red tide) has come out with a new “consensus document” outlining the “substantial and ongoing progress” being made in the fight against red tide.

That’s good; red tide — lurking now off Florida’s west coast — remains a huge problem for Florida, fed in part by nutrients discharged from Lake Okeechobee to the Caloosahatchee, causing millions in damages when blooms get out of control.

Perusing the document, we see monitoring and detection has been improved. Communication strategies have evolved. There’s been a lot more research and better modeling. What we don’t really see — yet, anyway — are strategies to mitigate or control harmful algal blooms and their impacts.

Maybe that’s coming; let’s hope it’s coming, because mitigating the impact — preventing blooms from having an impact in the first place — is the primary goal of these task forces. It’s great to study and communicate better about these problems — but at some point, Florida actually has to do something about them.

ICYMI: Make waves - become a WaveMaker!

Your support has long powered our work on the "Dirty Money Project," our watchdogging of "Big Sugar," our investigative reporting, our lobbying, our campaigns against dirty-water bills, our endorsements and more.

Now there's a new way to support our efforts, a new membership program called WaveMaker for those who want to make an even bigger splash. Check it out on our site at the button below.

P.S.: Floridians DON'T have the right to clean water; but you can change that

VoteWater supports the drive to get a right to clean water amendment on the 2026 Florida ballot, and you can too! Sign the petition, make a donation, volunteer your time and help Floridians secure a future with clean and safe water for all.