Guest Commentary

Okeechoobee could be intensifying the current red tide bloom around Sanibel

The red tide bloom has been patchy on our coast since October and was exacerbated by runoff from Hurricane Ian. Reports of fish kills this past month have been frequent along Sanibel beaches and reports of mild to severe respiratory irritation have also been reported

Recently, the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission has detected bloom levels of Karenia brevis in 22 samples in Lee County and the Florida Department of Health has issued health alerts for the presence of red tide near Lynn Hall Park (Fort Myers Beach), Gasparilla Island State Park (Boca Grande Pass), Turner Beach (Captiva), Blind Pass Beach (Sanibel), and Lighthouse Beach Park (Sanibel) Shellfish harvesting areas in the Pine Island Sound and Matlacha Pass have been closed due to the presence of K. brevis.

When red tide intensifies, it’s not only bad for wildlife and human health, but it is also bad for tourism Sanibel is typically viewed as an escape from the overly developed cities of Fort Myers and Cape Coral, and we have just begun reopening our beaches and businesses to the the Growth Management Act and abolished the agency that was responsible for its administration in 2011

When the campaigning was over, the citizens of Sanibel showed that they wanted to control their own destiny by approving the People’s Choice charter amendments in March of 2005

Those amendments today still provide water system As staff stated at the council meeting, “This is a situation we have never seen before ”

The Interior Flooding Conditions section of the policy states that “weirs may be opened during or subsequent to a period of heavy rainfall which results in interior flooding ” The opening of the weir now w o u l d b e c o n s i s t e n t w i t h t h e p o l i c y because the huge rainfall and storm surge from Hurricane Ian certainly resulted in and continues to cause interior flooding

The Miscellaneous Conditions section of the policy states that “the city manager may deviate from the above (policy) standards when deemed necessary for the preventing of immediate harm to persons, property, or the environment ” The harm public Although our beautiful island isn’t recovered, red tide is stymying our ability to bring back the tourism economy that many businesses on Sanibel and Captiva depend on

Even with the completion of Everglades restoration, a healthy balance between Lake Okeechobee levels, ecology, and safety, and the environmental effects of flows to the northern estuaries is not always possible Achieving that balance is increasingly at the mercy of the weather and a changing climate, requiring an urgent response

Water managers must send more water south to the Everglades where it is needed, and more water storage and treatment in the Caloosahatchee watershed are absolutely necessary to buffer periods of high and low flows and reduce nutrient loading Our islands’ economy and our future depend upon it

Leah Reidenbach is a research and policy associate f

Founded in 1967, the SCCF's mission is to protect and care for Southwest Florida’s coastal ecosystems For more information, visit www sccf org the legal underpinning for the city's postdisaster build-back and resort redevelopment ordinances Older condos have the means to rebuild and the island maintains its special status as a sanctuary haven for wildlife and residents

L a r r y S c h o p p i s p r e s i d e n t o f t h e Committee of the Islands COTI is a already exists the inability to remove debris and risk or refusal of contractors to take on roof and property repairs due to water and muck causing ground destabilizing effects

I believe that the historic and catastrophic damage to Sanibel and the homes of its residents and the need for residents to be allowed full safe access to all their property in order to begin to repair their homes and lives is sufficient cause and justification for the city council through its city manager to use all the options provided to him in the city's Surface Water Policy

Finally, at the meeting, council members asked excellent probing questions about the groundwater hydrology of the

Florida not-for-profit corporation dedicated to the continuity of good local government, protection of the environment and preservation of the small town character of the barrier island community For more information, visit www coti org or “COTI Committee of the Islands” on Facebook

Sea Oats subdivision and the potential consequences of taking certain actions (i e lowering the water level at the weir), but the majority of staff’s answers were “maybe,” “what I think is going on,” “I don’t know” and “I’m not sure, because this is a situation we have never seen before ” These were honest answers, but not helpful answers because as policymakers, council decisions are only as good as the information they are based upon I urge council to direct staff to investigate more thoroughly and provide it the factual answers to its hydrological questions Only then, will the residents be well served

Chuck Haas Sanibel