Water Quality

Water quality monitoring station to be unveiled at Mound House on Fort Myers Beach

WGCU Staff

Mound House, a museum dedicated to the history of Fort Myers Beach, has a new public water quality monitoring station. The station collects 14 types of water quality data, including temperature, salinity, turbidity, pH and depth.

Cape Coral officials rescinded a mandatory boil water advisory due to E. coli found in the public drinking water system 18 hours after they imposed it

Health

Lee County Utilities to end free chlorine flush, customers can expect some changes

WGCU Staff

Lee County Utilities will end its routine free chlorine flush on May 21. It will convert its disinfection process back to the use of chloramines. The flush began May 1.

Environment

North Port's water may smell like chlorine and makes clean laundry dirty -- but that's a good thing

Tom Bayles

North Port is in the midst of two-week process to clear out the piping of the city's water system, which can be done while the water can still be used

Environment

Lee County Utilities customers may notice a temporary change in taste, odor and color of their water

WGCU Staff

For a good part of May, if you draw a glass of water and you’re a Lee County Utilities customer, you might notice a change in the taste, odor and color of the water.The utility will be temporarily converting its disinfectant process from chloramines to free chlorine residual from May 1 through 21.

An explosion used to blast a canal that will lead to the Everglades super-reservoir, which will be part of the 17,000-acre complex of manmade wetlands to treat nutrient pollution from water released from Lake Okeechobee before it's released to the south, restoring a portion of the original flow through the River of Grass

Environment

Appeals court rules against sugar industry in quest to secure water meant for Everglades restoration

Tom Bayles

An appeals court rules the sugar industry could not take water meant for the Everglades when the EAA is completed in about a decade

This is what it's all about for those who care about excellent water quality in a coastal bay or lagoon on Florida's Gulf Coast: Thick, lush seagrass meadows provide critical habitat for fish, crabs, shrimp, manatees, and sea turtles while also stabilizing shorelines and improving water clarity

Environment

Sarasota Bay’s sea grass population soars; setting benchmark for other marine reclamation efforts

Tom Bayles

Sarasota Bay managers have managed a rare win in sea grass health and recovery in lagoons and bay around the state.

The Caloosahatchee River is at the center of the focus on water quality in Southwest Florida for Calusa Waterkeeper, from Boca Grande south to Bonita Springs and 1,000 miles around.

Environment

Calusa Waterkeeper meets to discuss future, area's water status

Tom Bayles

Calusa Waterkeeper meets to discuss its future, gather donations, and listen to experts like Mike Parsons from FGCU's The Water School

The high-volume discharges of water from Lake Okeechobee down the Caloosahatchee River that have been a mainstay for months to lower the depth of the lake before hurricane season will come to an end this weekend

Environment

Army Corps to stop sending polluted Lake Okeechobee water down Caloosahatchee River

Tom Bayles

The Army Corps has been sending Lake O water down the Caloosahatchee River for months to lower the depth in the lake, which harms the estuary.

Reclaimed water plants that provide highly treated wastewater to homes and businesses throughout the state will be receiving some of the water quality improvement grants announced by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis this week

Environment

DeSantis sending $25 million to region for Caloosahatchee River watershed improvements

Tom Bayles

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has earmarked $25 million for water-quality improvements to the Caloosahatchee River watershed

The burnt-orange water on the left is a full-blown red tide bloom that currently extends for dozens of miles from Sanibel Island toward Naples, which is only a section of the bloom from Tampa Bay to Key West

Environment

Swath of red tide forms along Southwest Florida coast from Tampa Bay to Key West

Tom Bayles

A swath of red tide stretching for more than 200 miles has formed from Tampa Bay to Key West and the bloom started near Tampa Bay shortly after Hurricane Milton in October.