River Kidz of St. Lucie and Indian River County

So the word discharge or discharges are frequently used when talking about our water problems. Its important to break down this term for all our Kidz to understand.

What are discharges?

• The definition of discharges is the rate of fluid flow passing a given point at a given moment in time, expressed as volume per unit of time, such as cubic foot per second 

So why do discharges occur?

There are many explanations to that question. One main reason is due to public safety and concern. Currently we see the discharges from Lake Okeechobee because of the dangers it poses to the dikes surrounding the lake. If the lakes get too high, the levee could break and millions of lives would be in danger of flooding. We saw a similar scenario play out during the 1928 hurricane. The hurricane caused the lake to overfill and the dike to collapse causing severe flooding south of the lake and also to small portion to the north of the lake.

You can see in the picture to the right, the flooded damaged areas.  

Since then lots of money has gone into repairing the dikes and keeping them secure so this kind of disaster does not take place again.

Fast forwarding to today, this is the reason we see the summer discharges here. These discharges are very important to the residents near the lake.

Now to the bad news, Lake Okeechobee or "The Big O" is known to have lots of potentially harmful and dangerous chemicals in it. This is due to watershed from around the  lake and high levels of fertilizers, phosphorus and animal waste (from cattle farms). This all eventually flushes down from both "The Big O" and the Kissimmee Basin. When the discharges occur, billions of gallons of this fresh water that is full of pollutants is flushed both into the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee River (west coast river). What makes our issues so unique, the Caloosahatchee needs some of this water to keep the salinity level from going too high (of course, without the chemicals). The St. Lucie can NOT afford to take any of the Lake Okeechobee fresh water.

This was said in Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch blog, the Martin Counties River Kidz organizer.

"Salinity is a delicate and important part of a healthy estuary. Generally short lived fresh water releases during heavy rains by our local canals are bad enough, but long term dumping of Lake Okeechobee releases on top of that, is certain death. It must stop."

If you click here you can read additional reasoning why even just CLEAN fresh water is very bad for our lagoon, let alone fresh water full of chemicals. 

Many of the adult advocates are advocating many solutions to keep both the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee River free from these discharges while ensuring families south of the lake are too safe. 

(photo courtesy of www.florida-backroads-travel.com)

One thing is for sure, the pollution going into these waterways has to stop. The water must go south so our rivers can attempt to rebound from decades of destruction. There is a great plan on the table that allows the water to naturally flow through the Everglades through the river of grass where it is filtrated and cleaned and then flushed naturally out to sea. The sad problem is there is too many gross chemicals in the water to send it south. 

We have a lot of work to do, as you can see. With your help though, we can continue to advocate clean waters whether that come in the form of beach cleanups, event demonstration or just talking about ways we all can make a difference. 

I hope everyone enjoyed this blog today and our Kidz are aware of just what discharges are.

Dike: a long wall or embankment built to prevent flooding from the sea.
Salinity: is the saltiness or dissolved salt content of a body of water
Advocate: publicly recommend or support
Filtrated: the action or process of filtering something.("small particles are difficult to remove without filtration")

As we saw yesterday all along the Indian River Lagoon, many were out helping clean it up from visible pollution. I felt it was a great time to explain to our Kidz what water pollution is and the many types of it.

What is water pollution?

Water pollution is is when waste, chemicals, or other particles cause a body of water (i.e. rivers, oceans, lakes) to become harmful to the fish and animals that need the water to survive. Water pollution can disrupt and negatively impact nature's water cycle as well.

There are many types of pollution water can face. Here are some:

• Sewage (aka microbial pollution)
• Pesticides and fertilizers (aka nutrient pollution)
• Water waste and chemicals from factories (aka ground water pollution)
• Construction site debris (aka suspended matter pollution)
• Litter and garbage (aka surface water pollution)
• Oil spills (aka chemical pollution)

Its important we adhere to the county and city regulations and continue to look out for our rivers and estuary. Kidz, if you see a neighbor fertilizing, remind them of the dangers they are posing to the local waterways and especially the fish.

Its also important to dispose of trash properly AND if you see trash laying nearby take two seconds to pick it up and either throwing it in the trash or recycle it. A lot of times that piece of trash ends up in the waterways. How long does some trash last in our waters?

See why now its important to not allow trash into our oceans, rivers, streams or lagoons.

I wanted to leave you all with some interesting facts regarding water pollution.

• Pollution in the water can reach a point where there isn't enough oxygen in the water for the fish to breathe. The fish can actually suffocate!
• Sometimes pollution affects the entire food chain. Small fishes absorb pollutants, such as chemicals, into their bodies. Then bigger fishes eat the smaller fishes and get the pollutants too. Birds or other animals may eat the bigger fishes and be harmed by the pollutants. One example of this was the use of the insecticide (bug killer) DDT. When birds of prey ate fishes that were infected with it, they would lay eggs with thin shells. The population of birds of prey began to drop until DDT was banished.
• Sewage can also cause major problems in rivers. Bacteria in the water will use oxygen to break down the sewage. If there is too much sewage, the bacteria could use up so much oxygen that there won't be enough left for the fish.
• Water pollution from major events like acid rain or oil spills can completely destroy marine habitats.
• Soap from washing your car can run down the street drain and cause water pollution.
• Only around 1% of the Earth's water is fresh water. The rest is salty and we can't drink it.
• Around 40% of the rivers and lakes in the United States are too polluted for fishing or swimming.
• The Mississippi River carries around 1.5 million tons of pollution into the Gulf of Mexico each year.

Thank you for taking the time to read up on water pollution the types and why its so bad to the environment.

DDT: (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane) was developed as the first of the modern synthetic insecticides in the 1940s. It was initially used with great effect to combat malaria, typhus, and the other insect-borne human diseases among both military and civilian populations and for insect control in crop and livestock production, institutions, homes, and gardens. DDT's quick success as a pesticide and broad use in the United States and other countries led to the development of resistance by many insect pest species.

DISCHARGES: In its simplest concept discharge means outflow; therefore, the use of this term is not restricted as to course or location, and it can be applied to describe the flow of water from a pipe or from a drainage basin. If the discharge occurs in some course or channel, it is correct to speak of the discharge of a canal or of a river. It is also correct to speak of the discharge of a canal or stream into a lake, a stream, or an ocean.

The issues with our lagoon can sometimes be complicated for adults let alone our children to understand. I wanted to talk about some of the issues, verbiage and definitions to help our youth understand more.

(The highlighted blue waters have definitions at the bottom of the blog.)

Lets talk about watershed. What is it? 

• Watersheds directly affect water quality, whether it's for drinking or recreation. For example, algae blooms from fertilizer runoff draining into water harm watershed health, as do mercury and lead seeping into the water supply due to pollution.
• Unhealthy watersheds affect wildlife.
• Aquatic life quickly suffers the effects of watershed pollution, while new pollutants introduced into ecosystems alter wildlife habitats. This reduces biodiversity by eliminating some species and introducing new, invasive ones that destroy the native species.
• Stormwater runoff can collect many different types of pollution before it reaches a body of water, including debris, dirt and chemicals.The storm water collects these materials and flows directly into a body of water like a stream or lake. These water bodies may be used for swimming, fishing and may even provide some of us with drinking water!

A year ago, many of us indulged in one treat we all are blessed with while living along the Atlantic ocean and Indian River Lagoon......swimming, playing, fishing and/or just sightseeing. Last year things took a drastic turn for the worst. Our waters turned brown, bright green algae ran amok throughout the lagoon and rivers and people got badly sick.

This problem Has plagued our home not just within the last year but for decades. This fight is not new to say the least. One thing that is new, social media. Last year, around this time two ordinary surfers/friends were fed up with the putrid sights and smells and death of the animals and took charge in the most monumental event some had ever seen while living along the treasure coast.

Evan Miller and Clint Starling brought to life the movement that has become an asset for this state. They were able to round up thousands and bring so many people from all different walks of life to one location. The St. Lucie Locks in Martin County to protest against the destruction. Their were informative speakers, scientist, politicians, environmental organizations and lots of FED UP local citizens. It was then that the momentum really started rolling.

Sadly, we are faced with the same destruction as last year, harmful fresh water discharges. These discharges are a plethora of nasty chemicals ranging from harmful chemicals to animal waste. While we presently are NOT seeing discharges directly from Lake Okeechobee, some believe this water is just as harmful as this water is left over from last year and has been stagnant prior to the gates opening recently.

August 3rd we will do it again and bring several communities together for the second year in a row.

The event starts at 10am with a great lineup of speakers. At 12pm, we will march to the locks. Following the march, their will be a ROCK THE VOTE concert. On hand will be voter registration applications for anyone who is not signed up to vote. Voting will be HUGE this year.

The River Kidz will have a booth there and are looking for ways to demonstrate what this event (the harmful discharges) mean to the Kidz. We are encouraging our young voices to join us and remind the stakeholder that the Kidz are our future. They deserve to utilize the one thing that has us all drawn to this state and that's CLEAN WATER! If your interested in having your child join the tiniest advocates, send an email to riverkidzslc@gmail.com ASAP.

I have been fortunate enough to watch lots of these Kidz grow and "just get" the problems and solutions.

Listed are links regarding this event. We need everyone who cares and wants clean water again to join us.

Citizens 4 Clean Water
Citizens 4 Clean Water event page
Kidz against Lake Okeechobee Discharges
Rock the Vote FL
Video from last years protest

We hope everyone will join us. This is the largest event and requires the largest crowd. The bigger the crowd the louder we are, the more the politicians know we mean business.

We need to demand they STOP THE DISCHARGES NOW!!!!!