Ten years ago, toxic blue-green algae—fueled by billions of gallons of discharges from Lake Okeechobee—coated the St. Lucie River, the Indian River Lagoon, and our beaches in thick, guacamole-looking sludge. Our waterways were dying, and our community’s livelihoods were on the line.
That’s when then-Senate President Joe Negron stood up and said enough is enough. He called for storing water south of Lake Okeechobee, cleaning it, and sending it to the Everglades and Florida Bay—the plan that would become the $4 billion Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) Reservoir.
Last week, I joined Captains for Clean Water, the Florida Oceanographic Society, the Everglades Foundation, and the Rivers Coalition at the Stuart Riverwalk to mark a decade since that fight began—and to celebrate what it’s produced.
The results of Senator Negron’s call to action? Blue crabs are back on the flats off Sailfish Point. Pinfish, mojarras, and queen conch have returned. As local fishing guide Captain Mike Holliday put it: “The whole food web is coming back.”
And the biggest piece is almost here. The EAA Reservoir is under construction and has been accelerated by five years—because President Trump and the state of Florida stepped up to bring in historic levels of restoration funding to get it done.
We know what happens when we let up, so we won’t. I’ll keep fighting to store the water, clean the water, and send it south.
