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)

Locally, the largest types we see here are litter and garbage (as we saw here yesterday) and nutrient pollution (fertilizers and pesticides). This passed year, lots of Florida's cities and counties passed fertilizer bans during the rainy season or summer months. This was a great move on behalf of the many counties and cities since we all know how often we're mowing during that time of year. Unfortunately, the agriculture industries still use harmful chemicals AND the rainy season is typically the time of year we see discharges. All of those chemicals eventually make it into our watershed (see previous blog) and are flushed into our estuary and rivers. the effects of this type of pollution is detrimental to the health of the lagoon and has some areas near by completely lifeless.


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? 



Watershed is an area of land over which water flows to reach a common body of water such as a lake or pond. We all live in a watershed, or drainage basin. Watersheds can be as large as the Kissimmee River basin (which is 2,932 square miles) or as small as a farm with a pond. Your watershed may be made up of mountains, farms, houses, businesses, or towns. You share your watershed with all other living things within the ecosystem.

For us locally, watershed can be yards, land used for agriculture purpose, commercial industries and farms. All our watershed that comes from our homes, canals that branch off Lake Okeechobee, even in the Kissimmee basin can end up in our lagoon and is eventually flushed out to the Atlantic ocean.

Why is this important?
  • 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!
One of the biggest problems we see here with our own watershed is the fertilizers, nitrogen and phosphorous that are found in the watershed. These toxic chemicals can lead to health issues not only for the lagoon, rivers and oceans wildlife but also human health. These substances mixed with warm brackish water can lead to toxic algae blooms that suffocate any living organism living in our lagoon and rivers. Not to mention the effect it has on us humans too. 

As you can see, watershed is a huge part of the lagoon and its health. Watershed is okay, if its not polluted and dirty. 


Here is a photo from Google Earth showing dirty watershed getting ready to enter the Jupiter Inlet and preparing to head out to sea. 

You can see how the is brown and bluish-green. The bluish-green water is the clean water, the dirty brown water is local watershed.

That dirty water does eventually make it out into the ocean and can be seen by beach goers if in its path as seen here:


You will notice the brown water near the shore and then the blue water farther out.

One thing the River Kidz advocate is to not use fertilizer or pesticides on your lawns, especially during the rainy season. They can have a deadly and disgusting effect on our local waterways. We don't know if the water seen in these pictures are dirty and/or harmful but one thing is for certain, if any of the chemicals listed above are in the watershed, you can pretty much bet that these bodies of water are harmful to the marine life at the very least. 

One thing we hope to do with the River Kidz is to construct our very own watershed model to help our Kidz understand more with a visual and fun hands on activity for all the participate in. 

Thank you for taking the time and showing interest in this topic. Its so important to allow our children to learn about these problems. Many of them will unfortunately have to face the same problems when they grow up. We know its so important as River Momz and Dadz to engage them now and teach them how to love and care for the planet. This is what the River Kidz of St. Lucie and Indian River County represents. 

I hope this blog helps you understand what exactly watershed is and why it plays a role in our lagoon. Should any familiez have any additional questions, feel free to comment below.  

Katy Lewey
River Kidz of St. Lucie County and Indian River County

  • AGRICULTURE: the science or practice of farming, including cultivation of the soil for the growing of crops and the rearing of animals to provide food, wool, and other products.
  • COMMERCIAL INDUSTRIES: Commercial Industry are those that makes the finished goods, supplied by the manufacturing industries, available to the consumers. Transport, trade, commerce etc are the examples of commercial industries.
  • FERTILIZER: a chemical or natural substance added to soil or land to increase its fertility.
  • PHOSPHOROUS: a poisonous chemical element that glows in the dark and burns when it is touched by air
  • INVASIVE: tending to spread prolifically and undesirably or harmfully.
  • ALGAE BLOOMS: a rapid growth of microscopic algae or cyanobacteria in water, often resulting in a colored scum on the surface.


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!!!!!


On April 3, 2014, River Kidz Gage, Vivi, Aidan and Hannah were asked to join Captains Don and Dyana Voss in an exciting and new "adventure". We hopped aboard the Captains boat and set sailed into the tranquil waters of the St. Lucie River. We weren't told much prior to which made this unique excursion that much special. 

The Kidz got to witness the natural beauties in their own backyard, literally. We got to see bountiful mangroves all along the banks, Ospreys feeding and watching over their young in nest, Yellow crowned night herons AND a Osprey wading in the waters. Swallow-tailed Kites flying high over our waters in utter enjoyment. Among some of the most prettiest sights they have ever seen were the wild orchids in bloom that caught your eye no matter what you had your eyes set on prior to.

While cruising the St. Lucie, the Kidz were given a tour of some of the tiniest passage ways along the river. Going around this corner and that corner, we came to our "exit". Captain Voss urged the Kidz to help in weaving through some of the overgrown trees only to break through what we thought was heaven on earth. A narrow passage way to nothing but flawless mangroves and untouched preserve. The Kidz had never seen something quite this magnificent in their tiny little lives. We watched a poppa Osprey fly over us protecting his babies nesting peacefully in the large treetops with momma Osprey.



As we continued to embrace the natural beauties surrounding us, we embarked onto a tiny dock. The Kidz helped dock the boat and departed the boat on to land. The old rickety dock told so many tales. Still soaking in what they just experienced, the Kidz followed our "tour quide", Captain Voss through the muddy wetlands of the Halpatioke Trails. Stepping knee deep in mudd, hopping from palm frolm to palm frolm in hopes of not getting any muddier the Kidz hurdled through the trails laughing and almost feeling as if they were in a different world.
We walked for a while soaking in what Mother Nature had intended. As we inched closer and closer, the sounds got louder and louder. We were inching closer to reality, US1. Once within a few feet to this busy thoroughfare we were hit with the realization of how disheartening taking this all away would be.

The Halpatioke Trails and Aquatic Preserve are in grave danger of being taken from us. The passage way we traveled, soaking up the pristine conditions surround us would be ripped right from underneath not only us adults but these children. Taking away the beauty they should be allowed to see. What many don't realize is that the Crosstown Bridge may be a new highway to travel, cutting some slack to Port St. Lucie Blvd, we would lose all the sights and sounds of what us adults and these Kidz just feasted their eyes one. This is one of 5 proposed areas to use, this is the most detrimental pathway to use. We do have other options!

The Conservation Alliance of St. Lucie County is working hard to protect these precious resources. To ensure our already sick river doesn't not have anymore taken from it. From the dirty silt on the bottom to the wetland preservation these Kidz got to skip through.

On April 12, 2014 at the Auto Zone on US1 in Port St. Lucie, the Conservation Alliance of St. Lucie County, River Kidz of St. Lucie and Indian River County and the River Warriors will join forces, yet again, to help raise money in a effort to fight for a shift in pathways. Please consider swinging by and getting a Eco-friendly car wash to help raise money towards this fight.

Please help of save this precious wetland and allow our Kidz to continue to enjoy Mother Natures greatest gifts.

What a great weekend. Full of new families, fun, oysters and art.

Saturday, some of the Kidz were out and about at the 3rd Annual Fort Pierce Oyster Festival. Momz Nyla, Katy and Lara painted faces. Over a hundred to be exact. We offered a jar for tips and were able to raise over $100 for our Kidz. Kidz Gage, Vivi and Hannah were present and took to the stage to talk to the public for a bit. Hannah and Gage were cool enough to walk around and get Clean Water Declarations signed for our environmental friends at the Indian Riverkeeper booth. Hannah was asked by a gentlemen WHY he should sign the declaration, Hannah's reply was "Because us Kidz are playing in the water and getting rashes and getting very sick!", she got a signature. We were able to recruit a whole page of new familiez interested in our efforts and encourage visitors to take what these Kidz are doing back home, wherever that may be. I would like to give a special shout out to our County Commissioner Chris Dzadovsky for coming to the Kidz rescue and loaning them a canopy until we can get our own.

If you would like to contribute to our Kidz events and activities, head over to our fundraising page and make a contribution to our cause. No amount is too small.

The River Kid booth also had a special visitor, Gregory Oravac is a candidate for Port St. Lucie Mayor. He also is a amazing family man who enrolled his children into the River Kidz. He has some great plans on the table for our local waterway concerns. We are so excited to have his family involved with the River Kidz.



Sunday, our April meeting day. We had a great turnout with lots of new members. We worked on out official logo allowing those present to stamp their hand prints into a water drop that will symbolize so much but mainly expressing to the public that water too has a voice and its in these Kidz "hands" to speak up for it. I can't wait to share it with you. We had local artist, Brigid McGuiness come lend a helping hand with her beautiful River Kid, Jensen.


We hope to share our new logo in the coming days or weeks.

Some key notes discussed today at our meeting;
  • We talked about the importance of mentoring one another and working together as a group. We explained to our older Kidz the importance of them being their and the impact THEY have on the smaller Kidz.
  • We introduced some of the Special Edition River Kidz today. It was very cool to see Sam, Tina and
  •  Jeff dive right in and be a part of something huge. To these Kidz, this can be very tough for them. They LOVED it!

  • Lilly Tougas, a Wyland Foundation ambassador and River Kid encouraged the Kidz to pledge to conserving water. We discussed things we all can and are doing at home to play our role. We are asking our families to "Take the Pledge" as well. Some of our Kidz did it today. Head over to the Wyland Foundation website, and pledge that you too will help conserve earths most valuable resource. Their is an adult version AND childrens version. The City with the most pledges could win some fabulous prizes.
    • We talked about our upcoming events and how we're going to be seeing a "shift in the tides" and that we'll be bringing them lots more hands on activities and field trips. Yes, field trips. One mentioned today was a seigning field trip to Jaycee Park. Some of the Kidz have done it so, those Kidz talked about it to our younger Kidz. They got very excited to hear all about the cool creatures they would be able to experience.
    • The Kidz were able to enjoy a yummy healthy snack, Dolphin Bananas and Grapes. River Mommaz love a yummy treat especially, the healthy ones. 
    • Jack Hudson visited today and explained to the Kidz his ideas and his collaboration with us. In case you haven't heard, the River Kidz were given a great opportunity to team up with the American Dream Factory and test water products finalizing them with a seal of approval. Their little faces lit up.
    Lastly, we have some very exciting NEW changes we wanted to share with our families. Their has been a lots of talk about getting a River Kidz in Indian River County. We have decided to not only offer this wonderful organization to us here in St. Lucie County but also share it with Indian River County. We hope to bring the same fun ideas and activities there as well. Its so important to keep talking about our lagoon and the allow the children to express their concerns and allow them to play a role in the recovery process. A lot can be ton and theirs always something YOU can be doing. If you have friends in Indian River, encourage them to follow us on Facebook and enroll by sending an email to riverkidzslc@gmail.com. One thing to remember is your time is not expected, while we would love to have you involved as much as possible, we also realize that weekends can be sacred to our families, especially while in school. This is a great avenue however, for the summer months, especially since were expecting "troubled waters" again.

    It was a fantastic weekend for our Kidz and we can't wait for more fun to come. Huge thanks to the familiez who played a part in all our fun we had this weekend.

     

    This past weekend was a very positive one for the lagoon. 



    From clean-ups in Ft. Pierce to parades in Jensen Beach, it was one super beneficial weekend. The Kidz were super busy doing what they LOVE best. Working, promoting and restoring.

    On Saturday in the AM some of the Kidz were present for the "Boots on the ground: No MOORE trash" cleanup organized by the Scout Troop 772 and Neighborhood Bibleway Church. Among the Kidz and the community coming together, we also saw some of our favorite politicians come out and lend a helping hand to their community. Rep. Larry Lee was present, Congressmen Partick Murphy's representatives were present also, County Commissioner's Chris Dzadovsky and Kim Johnson we're also present.

    This area the Kidz targeted was an area that leads directly into our lagoon, the amounts of trash that was collected along the creek really helped keep our lagoon clean and free from litter. The Kidz recognize it isn't just about the chemicals coming into the lagoon from Lake Okeechobee but its also up to us here on the local front to do our part.

    Saturday PM was another fun filled event. Some of the Kidz were present while restoring what was loss, our oysters population. Last summer, the entire oyster population was decimated due to the discharges. The Kidz were a part of putting back what was loss. Among the community again being there to lend a helping hand was County Commissioner's Chris Dzadovsky.

    County Commissioner's Chris Dzadovsky has proven to be an asset in this cause and has been present in a lot of the River Warrior's fight. The River Kidz thank all the County Commissioner's who have really stepped up and familiarized themselves to our concerns here at home and got involved.

                                         

    Sunday in Jensen Beach was the St. Patricks Day Parade, the Kidz had a blast riding in the super bright yellow Mustang and passing out great information flyers with blue and green swedish fish. The Kidz got to talk to our Indian River Keeper, meet Mary W. Higgins who is in the running for State representative while promote awareness and watch other River Kidz sign the Clean Water Declaration. Lots of the River Momma's were there to help make a lot of this possible. A huge thanks to Gayle Ryan for inviting us and allowing them to be a part of what we all know has to be done, promoting awareness. Gayle has set records across the board at not only being one of the most active warriors, she as also set records when it comes to getting petitions signed. We thank you so much Gayle!!!



    It was a very eventful great weekend, one I was so proud to witness. These Kidz are our future, as we have seen in Martin County where the River Kidz took initiative to demand they too will be heard, St. Lucie county is doing the same exact thing and has the head River Momma, I couldn't be prouder to watch each and every one of them grow and get involved.

    If you would like to join the River Kidz, its very simple. For Martin County, head over to their registration page and sign-up. For St. Lucie County, send an email to riverkidzslc@gmail.com and include your child's name and age. You then will be put on our mailing list and notified of both counties events. Again, I woud like to thank both communities for embracing our new chapter and really making it possible for these Kidz to have a voice.





    On behalf of the River Kidz in both St. Lucie and Martin County, we would like to thank the following local municipals in their continued efforts to help clean our waterways. Fertilizers, as we have shared with our Kidz, have continued to prove major destruction along our lagoon. While we have lots of work to do and we know big agriculture and business ARE exempt from these new ordinances (per THE STATE, not local), its still refreshing to see our local elected officials hop on board towards a brighter future for our Kidz.

    As quoted by one of our River Kidz, "Why do we need to use those chemicals when the rain and sun is perfect enough for the grass?!"  My answer, we DON'T need those chemicals, your right, the rain and sun is plenty enough.

    • Town of Sewall’s Point
    • Martin County
    • Indian River County
    • St Lucie County
    • Orchid Island
    • Indian River Shores
    • Vero Beach
    • Brevard County
    • Port St Lucie
    • Jupiter Island
    • Ocean Breeze
    • Fellsmere
    • Palm Shores
    • Melbourne Beach
    • Sebastian
    • Rockledge
    • Satellite Beach
    • New Smyrna Beach
    • Cocoa Beach
    • Stuart is in the early stages of this discussion, as well
    Thank you to all our environmental stewardship's/friends who have continue to prove day in and out how dedicated they are in getting clean, healthy, safe water once and for all. 

    Happening this weekend (CALL TO ACTION):

    "Boots on the Ground - No MOORE Trash" (In Ft. Pierce)
    https://www.facebook.com/events/251370655041230/

    "Week Long Oyster Bagging Event" (Ft. Pierce)
    https://www.facebook.com/events/1455789481308095/

    Jensen Beach St. Patricks Day Parade - River Warrior Style
    https://www.facebook.com/events/268328610000859/


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