May Water News
- CWC
- 5 days ago
- 3 min read
Good news: Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program awarded the Clean Water Coalition a grant for $255,000 to continue our work connecting income qualified residents to Vero Beach’s municipal sewer!
Victory for Florida's Natural Treasures!State Park Protection Bill Passes
We did it! After months of passionate advocacy and grassroots organizing, the Florida Legislature unanimously passed the "State Park Preservation Act" (HB 209/SB 80), and Governor DeSantis has indicated he'll sign it into law. This is a monumental win for everyone who cherishes our state's natural beauty!
The new law couldn't be clearer - no more golf courses, pickleball courts, hotels or other non-conservation development within our state parks. Instead, our natural spaces will remain dedicated to activities that help us connect with nature: hiking, swimming, boating, and simply enjoying Florida's incredible biodiversity.
Congratulations to every person who signed a petition, called a legislator, wrote a letter, or simply spread the word. We protected our parks for ourselves, our children, and generations to come. That's something worth celebrating!
Fifth-grade students with the Pelican Island Audubon Society's Audubon Advocates program wrote letters to the Florida Legislature during April 2025 the "State Park Preservation Act”.
The program is designed for fifth-graders in four Title I schools in Indian River County, and addresses "nature deficit disorder". Students go outside, "kayaking on the lagoon, exploring trails and habitat on conservation areas."
They learn "science vocabulary words, resulting in better STEM (science, technology and math) scores as they progress to higher grades." Scientists serve as role models. Some of these students also participate in the River Kidz program, partially sponsored by the Clean Water Coalition.
A federal judge just delivered a major win for Florida's struggling manatees and for environmental protection. Orlando-based Judge Carlos Mendoza has ruled that the Florida Department of Environmental Protection violated the Endangered Species Act by allowing wastewater discharges into the Indian River Lagoon that devastated manatee habitats.
The environmental group, Bear Warriors United, has been fighting this battle since 2022 led by Executive Director, Katrina Shadix. The judge's ruling confirms what environmentalists have been saying for years – pollutants discharged into the lagoon cause algae blooms, blocking the sunlight and killing seagrasses - the main food source for manatees.
Since 2007, more than 60,000 acres of seagrass have vanished from the Indian River Lagoon – about 75% of what used to be there. For manatees, which need around 100 pounds of plants daily, this loss has been catastrophic. Florida experienced an "Unusual Mortality Event" between 2020 and 2022, with a staggering 1,255 manatee deaths recorded – over 1,000 occurring during the winters of 2020-2021 and 2021-2022.
When filing the lawsuit, Bear Warriors called out state regulators and demanded accountability beyond the emergency lettuce feeding program. Judge Mendoza emphasized that even with the state's ongoing remediation efforts, restoration will take many years.
There are some positive signs. By the end of 2024, manatee deaths had dropped below the five-year average, and in March 2025, the Unusual Mortality Event was officially declared over. However, experts remain concerned about the potential for future harmful algal blooms.
This victory is about more than just manatees, it's about the health of our entire ecosystem. The ruling sends a powerful message that Florida's waterways aren't disposal sites for human waste and pollutants, and represents a crucial step toward healing the Indian River Lagoon.
Project SeaSafe 2025:Drones Deploy Clams toRevitalize Indian River Lagoon
Drones hovered above the Indian River Lagoon in Grant-Valkaria late April, releasing 'super-clam cluster bombs' as part of the ambitious Billion Clam Initiative. The operation, coordinated by Coastal Conservation Association (CCA) with partners Duke Energy Florida and Star brite, deployed four million clams during the weekend-long Clean Water Collective event.
Since its 2017 launch, the initiative has successfully placed 49 million clams in the lagoon using cutting-edge drone technology. These aren't ordinary bivalves—they're "super clams" specially selected for their ability to survive the lagoon's challenging conditions.
Water quality tests show encouraging improvements. As filter feeders, these hardy clams remove algae and excess nutrients while helping to reduce shoreline erosion.
With each clam filtering gallons of water daily, the cumulative effect could significantly improve water clarity over time.
Cynthia Barnett’s "Mirage: Florida and the Vanishing Water of the Eastern U.S."
Mirage is the finest general study to date of the freshwater-supply crisis in Florida. Never before has the case been more compellingly made that America’s dependence on a free and abundant water supply has become an illusion. Cynthia Barnett does it by telling us the stories of the amazing personalities behind our water wars; well-meaning villains abound but so too do heroes, such as Arthur R. Marshall Jr., Nathaniel Reed, and Marjorie Harris Carr. Barnett has established herself as one of Florida’s best journalists and Mirage is a must-read for anyone who cares about the future of the state. The author’s research is as thorough as her prose is graceful. Drinking water is the new oil. Get used to it!