News

By Dr. Beth Brady, Senior Conservation Associate

Water quality is critical for both humans and manatees. Poor water quality has led to harmful algal blooms and the loss of seagrass, significantly impacting manatees. Recognizing the importance of clean water for manatees, aquatic vegetation, and other aquatic species, Save the Manatee Club (SMC) has a long history of advocating for strong water pollution control regulations to protect these vital habitats.

Our efforts to ensure clean water have included federal, state, and regional initiatives. Due to the recent severe loss of seagrass and significant loss of manatees on the east coast of Florida, SMC and other conservation partners filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The suit aimed to compel the EPA to formally consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service, as required under the Endangered Species Act, to establish higher water quality and enforcement standards. These measures are necessary to facilitate the recovery of the Indian River Lagoon ecosystem. Unfortunately, there has not been a ruling on this lawsuit. However, SMC continues to work on solutions to improve the health of the Indian River Lagoon with multiple organizations including the Brevard Indian River Lagoon Coalition and the Indian River Lagoon Assembly.

Many of our state- and regional-level initiatives focus on adequate protection for springs. We have advocated for protective Minimum Flows and Levels (MFLs) for rivers and springs and worked to hold Florida’s water management districts and Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) accountable to the federal Clean Water Act when setting MFLs. MFLs identify the limit at which further withdrawals from freshwater sources would be significantly harmful to the water resources or ecology of the area. Rivers, streams, estuaries, and springs require minimum flows, while minimum levels are developed for lakes, wetlands, and aquifers. There is a critical link between water quantity and water quality, which can harm essential aquatic habitats if not in balance. At the regional level, we worked with the water management districts to develop a Surface Water Improvement Management Plan for Kings Bay, Weeki Wachee, Chassahowitzka, and Homosassa to address cumulative impacts on water quality and aquatic habitats from excess nutrients.

In 2018, the FDEP established a Basin Management Action Plan (BMAP) framework aimed at reducing nitrogen in impaired Outstanding Florida Springs (a collection of Florida springs with special status and protections) by 68% within 20 years. We monitored the development of BMAPs around Florida to ensure that habitat and waterways that manatees utilize were adequately protected.

Our recent legal challenges have centered on certain BMAPs that were developed. In 2019, multiple environmental groups, including SMC, sued the FDEP, arguing that four of the proposed BMAPs (Suwannee, Santa Fe, Silver Springs, and Rainbow Springs) would not sufficiently reduce pollution. These four watersheds account for 76% of all nitrogen pollution entering Florida’s springs—pollution which largely comes from agricultural activity. In 2022, a judge agreed that the BMAPs were insufficient and mandated that the FDEP revise those BMAPs by 2025.

Despite the inception of BMAPs, nitrogen levels in Florida springs have increased. Currently, 24 out of the 30 Outstanding Florida Springs are impaired. Initial efforts suggest that the BMAPs for other springs—such as Weeki Wachee, Volusia Blue, and Gemini Springs—laid out by the FDEP will also not meet nitrogen reduction goals. Although SMC has worked on multiple initiatives, like advocating for ordinances to reduce residential fertilizer use, more policies are needed to control nitrogen pollution, particularly from agriculture. Our work is not complete, and SMC will continue to advocate and fight for clean water, not only for manatees, but for all species (including us) that rely on these essential habitats.