Florida
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2007
Everglades
Clean Water Action is an active partner with and member of the following campaigns and coalitions addressing the urgent need to restore and protect America's Everglades from the threats posed by rampant over-development and other pressures against this one of a kind ecosystem:
- The Everglades Foundation
- The Everglades Coalition
- Hold the Line Campaign
- The Everglades Skyway Coalition
Since the 1990s Clean Water Action has been active in grassroots efforts to raise awareness of the Everglades at a time when the risks to the famed "River of Grass" have reached a fevered pitch.
Under the leadership of visionary director and "Admiral of the Chesapeake"John Kabler (pdf), Clean Water Action has aggressively organized the public on campaigns for Florida Bay in the Keys, the unprecedented Everglades Constitutional Amendments of 1996, to halting expansions of Urban Boundary areas in recent years, among other battles.
Today, with such partners as the Everglades Foundation, Clean Water Action continues to leverage public support and involvement to see "restoration" of the Everglades through to its ultimate ideal: returning the natural flow of waters from the Kissimee Chain of Lakes into Lake Okeechobee and through the remnant glades and National Parks and out into Florida Bay.
For more information, call: 561-417-9995.
2006
Clean Water Action's Members Win In Key State Legislative Races
Clean Water Action believes in the importance of electing and re-electing environmentally conscious legislators to protect our environment and public health. The following are the results of hard work put in by Clean Water members, staff and volunteers this past election season. Learn more about the election results.
Palm Beach County: Rock Mining
After County Commissioners approved a major rock-mining project within the massive Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) earlier this year, Clean Water Action worked with local allies to halt any further mining of spent farmland in the area and throughout the EAA until a two-year comprehensive study on groundwater impacts from future mining is completed.
Thanks to the proactive efforts of Commissioner Karen Marcus, and after scores of Clean Water Action members assailed the Commission, an amendment to county land-use rules was put forth for a "temporary moratorium" on future projects. The amendment was recently adopted by the commission, and a working group is being established to monitor progress and direction for the study on Palm Beach County's water supply.
To learn more about any of these South Florida issues please contact our local organizer, Nathan Geisler at (561) 417-9995, or ngeisler@cleanwater.org
South Florida Update and Issues to Watch
Broward County: Water Reuse
On November 3, Clean Water Action, along with allied partners helped quell an attempt to allow reuse sewage water to be dumped into Broward County canals, as part of a short-sighted proposal to deal with the county's lacking water conservation efforts.
Broward is one the worst counties for water reclamation and reuse in Florida, recapturing a dismal 5% of water used. The remainder washes out to sea, is "deep well" injected into the ground, or is pumped out in ocean outfall pipes scattered along the lower east coast.
Broward DOES need to address pressing water supply concerns now that Everglades restoration will prevent irresponsible withdrawals from sources like the Biscayne Aquifer. However, this proposal would have allowed more reckless development to continue to spread by lowering standards for canals and waterways.
Though water reuse lags in Broward, the county does have one of the strictest water quality standards in all of Florida, superior even to those set by the state, and for now those standards have been upheld. Clean Water Action continues to closely watch this issue and will notify our members as other opportunities arise for public involvement.
Keep Up The Fight To Protect The Hillsborough River!
The Lower Hillsborough River Needs Clean, Fresh Water
Clean Water Action is part of the River Alliance, a coalition of groups like, Florida Consumer Action Network, Friends of the River, and Sierra Club who have been voicing their concerns about the dangers of using reclaimed water to augment freshwater flow below the dam at Rowlett Park.
Clean Water Action's members and concerned residents wrote over 800 letters to the Mayor and the City of Tampa expressing their concern for the health of the Hillsborough River. Because of such community outcry, Mayor Iorio said she could not imagine her constituents ever signing off on it.
