Video: http://www.cbs12.com/news/top-stories/stories/vid_9716.shtmlCloser to a state of emergency; Toxic water devastating Treasure Coast Story by Jana Eschbach / CBS12 News
Posted by Scott T. Smith / CBS12 News
STUART, Fla. -- St. Lucie County commissioners give the go ahead to draft a state of emergency. All commissioners unanimously approved the move.
It will be finalized and voted on next week, which will then open up funding for environmental and economic losses.
The news comes the same day we've learned that nearly 100 percent of the 23 acres of state funded oyster beds are dead. 100 percent of the St. Lucie River in Stuart and Port St. Lucie is toxic. Releases from Lake Okeechobee are estimated to continue through 2014.All this is taking a toll on the tourism and boating industry, the environment, and even people's health.
Bacteria levels are so high, you can't touch the water or risk an infection.
Toxic algae so serious, it can cause liver damage.
Tourism numbers on the west coast of Florida are just in, show
70 percent of the tourism industry is seeing a great economic hit.
Fifty percent of hotel guests say they won't return because of the dirty water.
Treasure Coast officials have not yet surveyed businesses to date, but the numbers won't be good.
"The important thing is let's declare it a State of Emergency," said Mark Perry, Executive Director at Florida Oceanographic Society. "I mean this is not only an emergency environmentally, but economically for the people in the area for their livelihoods and health-wise. So there should be a state team that comes here from Department of Environmental Protection and the Governor's office, and everyone should be on this."
A state Senate panel last week focused on possible solutions for now, like using cattle ranches and conservation lands to hold water, some of it is land currently flooded by Big Sugar.
$4 million of taxpayer money was spent on the oyster reef project.
The water in the spring was crystal clear in the estuary. Now, its toxic."This is a real real crisis here," Perry said.
With four months of fresh water pouring in, the salinity in the St. Lucie River plunged to zero.
"We went out and did surveys on August 2 and found about 49 percent mortality in the oysters. But for so much fresh water for so long, they cant tolerate it," Perry said. "Those oysters form reef environments, and create habitats for about 300 species of little crabs, shrimp, and juvenile fish that are based on the food chain, on up the food chain -- that habitat alone is being decimated."
This week the oyster reefs are declared dead. Your tax dollars were spent on a big project, only to be destroyed once again.
"These coastal estuaries cannot take it -- enough is enough." Perry said.
But Perry says we have to keep spending to keep regenerating these reefs, or the entire estuary will die. What would that look like? No fish, dolphins, manatees, nothing will live in the water.
"Look we cant give up. As soon as this events over we have to get back out there and try to recover this habitat, cause oysters and seagrasses and mangroves, these are critical habitats for these coastal estuaries." Perry said.
The New York Times is here today, CBS Evening News, are focusing on the economy, and other networks on dolphin deaths. Are we gaining any support for funding a comprehensive solution for the coastal and Lake regions with all this coverage? Not yet.
To bring awareness to Washington this week and encourage funding, Congressman Patrick Murphy is taking a tour of the entire Everglades and Lake region projects with South Florida Water Managers first thing Wednesday.
Murphy is trying to secure federal support in Washington to pay for the projects. Fully-funded, the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, passed in 2000, would cost $8 billion, and take 15 to 20 years to complete.
