Jim Roach: Algae blooms are worldwide problem
Jim Roach was the featured speaker at the Greater Pine Island Chamber of Commerce Business Card Exchange meeting last Wednesday. Roach presented a slide show and gave an update on his interactions with our state representatives, U.S. congressman and FGCU faculty about our water quality state of emergency.
Roach, the legislative director of the Pine Island Chamber of Commerce, has been involved on the prevention side of local water quality issues for 10 years and has met with farmers, the Florida Department of Agriculture, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, as well as experts from other states who have faced similar water quality issues and have proven solutions.
“I’ve put together a short presentation to give you a better idea of what’s going on with our water, how long it’s going to last, and what the risks are from the effects of the Lake Okeechobee blue-green algae and the red tide issues here,” Roach said.
He contends that the algae blooms are a worldwide problem extending from Europe to the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland and to Florida.
“The causes are known and the actions for prevention are also known,” Roach said. “Yes, blue-green algae and red tide are natural occurrences, but if you dump a bunch of fertilizer in the water, the red tide and blue-green algae will get bigger and stay longer.”
The frequency and volume of Lake Okeechobee discharges are a separate issue because the federal government (Army Corps of Engineers) is responsible for those discharges. Roach stated that the Herbert Hoover Dike has a DSAC Class I rating.
Dams are rated by the Army Corps of Engineers 1 through 5, with 5 being the safest. A rating of 1 identifies the dam as “Urgent and Compelling Critically near failure or extremely high risk.” The Herbert Hoover dike has the lowest rating.
Lake Okeechobee is the largest freshwater lake in the state and holds an estimated 1 trillion gallons of water.
“The dike is strong enough to hold 17 or 18 feet of water,” Roach said. “At 21 feet, it fails. If Florence was 100 miles south it could have taken out the dike. The consequences of that are unimaginable.”
Roach contends much of the phosphorous contamination comes from fertilizer and can be prevented through education. He suggests the following measures be considered:
1. Mandate that agricultural fertilizer be applied beneath the surface of the soil. This will prevent over 80 percent of the runoff of nutrients that feed the toxic algae.
2. Mandate that dairy cow manure be recycled and used as fertilizer on-site using shallow disk injection (a few inches beneath the surface of the soil) to reduce runoff by over 80 percent and prevent the buildup of millions of pounds of manure in the South Florida Watershed. Dairy cows are the largest single-point source of algae-feeding nutrient runoff.
3. Mandate septic inspections and pump-outs at least every 5 years and during the sale of a home.
4. Strengthen the “Florida Friendly Landscapes” law of 2009 to allow homeowners to use Florida Friendly Landscaping without fear of lawsuit from HOAs or cities. This will reduce the need for over 100,000 acres of sod farms in our watershed that are the second largest single-point source of algae feeding nutrient runoff.
5. Restore funding to the pollution enforcement staff that has had to reduce enforcement actions by 80 percent
6. Provide funding as requested by the counties for “septic to sewer” projects. 31 percent of Florida residents are on septic systems
7. Provide incentives for people on septic Ssystems to upgrade to high efficiency septic systems
8. Educate consumers about proper disposal or recycling of pet and horticultural waste to prevent these waste products from entering our waterways
9. Provide incentives to develop efficient ways to recover phosphorus from our waterways and Lake Okeechobee.
10. Form and fund a “Toxic Algae Prevention Committee” for Florida to research, pilot and implement improved methods of keeping phosphorus and other nutrient runoff that feeds the toxic algae.
“The only thing that makes sense is to reduce the amount of phosphates going into Lake Okeechobee,” Roach said. “The two main sources are agricultural runoff and then dairy and sod farms. We also have to look at septic systems.
“In 2012 the state Legislature repealed the law that requires homeowners to have their septic systems inspected before the sale of a house,” Roach said. “Septics can be cleaned for about $400. This would go a long way towards cleaning up our water.
“We need to vote for candidates that support clean water,” Roach said. “It took us 70 years to get where we are today. It’s going to take us 20 or 30 years to get anywhere near noticeable clean water. We need to do something as citizens and as voters.”
This month’s meeting was held at El Pollo’ Rico.