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website. Where were the warning signs at airports or throughout the City
advising on these hazardous conditions in our waterways?

A local fisherman was hospitalized with a severe infection to his leg after
fishing for baitfish in the New River on Christmas day. He didn’t know the river
was contaminated. A woman was hospitalized after contracting an infection in
a healing wound on her leg while working her job of removing barnacles off
the bottom of boats. She didn’t know the water in the canal which she was
working in Fort Lauderdale was toxic. A young boy got very sick after
swimming in the Whiskey Creek about a week after the first break. The family,
like many others, didn’t know the water they were swimming in was
contaminated. Another woman who asked not to have her name mentioned,
contracted MRSA when paddle boarding in the Middle River a few weeks
after the first break. She said there were no warnings of hazardous water
conditions in that area.

“What we didn’t realize is how bad this water really is,” said Tim Meyers of
954 Paddle Crew. “We always kind of joked about it, but now that we
actually tested it, we’re really horrified. People get sick, our paddlers get sick
and we didn’t really make the connection. I saw one sign near the Tarpon
River where the sign was so small I could barely read it. We’ve been having to
take matters into our own hands and literally test the water ourselves since we
don’t trust the little information we are getting from the City. We’ve taken five
(5) tests with the Blue Water Task Force, (a Surfrider Foundation’s volunteer-run
water testing, education, and advocacy program.) since January 1st, and they
have all failed. Since the City questions the validity of this private testing, 954
asked the City to join them in testing the water in this area behind Sanctuary
Church. The test took place Monday, January 13, at 9:00 am and the results
of these tests showed above-threshold levels of bacteria on all testing.
This toxic waste is not only hazardous to those who enjoy recreational water
activities like swimming, surfing, kayaking, and paddle-boarding, but also to
those individuals who frequently eat the fish that live in these contaminated
water conditions. This dumping of waste into our waterways depletes the
available oxygen from the water, creating an imbalance of nutrients in the
environment in which aquatic organisms live. Untreated sewage waste
contains high concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorous which leads to the
invasion of green algae blooms, and drives away local aquatic life. This green
slime can be extremely toxic in high concentrated areas.
Local Sport Fisherman, Captain Jeff Maggio, of Lunkerdog, said “Even though
sewage line breaks like these devastated the New River, they are only part of
the problem. The Intracoastal and our rivers and canals are being used as
liquid trash cans.” He added, “In the past four years, the absence of wild life
is amazing. A black slime is replacing oyster and barnacle life on our sea
walls.” (One oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water a day.) “These toxic
waters are spreading all throughout the small canals too,” said Maggio.

According to Broward.org, the North Fork, a shallow, meandering tributary to
the New River, is a remnant section of the eastern Everglades. This estuary
system flows through the northwest section of Fort Lauderdale and a portion of

30 CORAL RIDGE COUNTRY CLUB ESTATES HOA