a message from your publisher…Reg Buxton

This column was first published in April of 2019, nearly 6 years ago. What were the problems then? What problems are we facing now? What has been done in the intervening time?

The City of Naples is in the process of doing many things to improve our water and defend against Red Tide and Blue Algae Blooms (HAB). A new Storm Water project will soon begin, as it’s in final permitting.

In September a plan to improve the 25 lakes in the city will be brought forth. Many oyster beds have been put in Naples Bay over the last few months. More are planned soon. A single oyster can cleanse 50 gallons of water a day. These are all very positive steps in protecting our environment.

As mentioned in this space in the March editorial, high nutrient levels starting as far away as Orlando feed harmful algae blooms all the way to our area. This is causing fish kills, loss of tourism, beach closings, and damage to local businesses that serve our tourism industry. This includes hotels, restaurants, and marine industries such as tours and fishing charters. While we are attempting to work on cleaning Collier County/Naples waters, the best we can do is hope for a stalemate by continually cleaning the water that comes to us from further north.

Remember 38% of Florida is on septic tanks, farming nutrients both new and legacy are either already in the ground or being put in it daily. Water release from Lake Okeechobee has and will continue. We need to change the Best Management Practices being used now. The current ones will not get us to where we need to be. We need to know what the environmental trigger is that happens before the HABs. The watershed that goes into Lake Okeechobee needs to be put on a diet and quickly. We must cut the pollutants going into the lake NOW! This is a long and arduous process that must be done.

It is all above the City of Naples and until it’s all brought under control we will have to fight daily to defend our water quality.