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Dean Trantalis
Mayor
City of Fort Lauderdale
Office Contact:
Scott Wyman
Assistant to the Mayor
swyman@fortlauderdale.gov
Phone: 954.828.5004
CITY OF FORT LAUDERDALE
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Mayor’s Message
Over the past two months, our city has experienced
the best of times and the worst of times.
e christened our new Oceanside Park and experienced innovative
entertainment venues such as The Wharf and pop-up places in both the
WMASS Art District and FAT Village. Yet, we also were met with challenges
that truly tested the mettle of our city staff and our neighbors as we suffered break
after break in our sewer and water systems.
We are a proud city because of the talent and commitment our city workers have shown in
responding to this crisis. We are equally proud in knowing that members of our community
for their patience and perseverance. I personally want to thank both our staff and our
neighbors for working together as we pull through this challenge. Construction crews are
making great progress, and soon we will have an infrastructure system second to none.
While this work continues, the City Commission and I also have instructed the city
administration to look at ways to improve the quality of our waterways. I have long
said that the city’s environment needs special focus and have championed efforts for
clean waterways. It is our beaches, rivers and canals that make Fort Lauderdale such
an amazing place to live and visit. We are the Venice of America and must do our
utmost to protect these vital natural resources.
My concerns were initially heightened several years ago when green algae blooms
mysteriously appeared in canals in the Las Olas neighborhoods. We never witnessed
this before, and it pointed to a need to prevent the degradation of our waterways. The
city’s former administration dismissed my suggestions that something needed to be done.
They said concern was unwarranted. They denied the blooms posed any health hazard
even though test results my office obtained from Broward County showed the opposite.
The attitude at City Hall changed dramatically when this new City Commission was elected.
In the current year’s budget, we agreed to invest in research on the blooms and to hire
contractors to mitigate their impact. We also funded free pump-out facilities for boats in
case any of the high level of nutrients was due to illegal waste-dumping by boaters.
Following recent events, the commission has committed itself to additional steps.The
city will be undertaking an environmental analysis of the conditions of George English
Lake and the rivers impacted by the sewage spills. Based on these results, we will
determine a course of action to restore them. In addition to cleaning the waterways,
we also must determine any long-standing sources of pollution and address them.
Immediate, emergency action is already underway. The city has deployed dozens of aerators
to improve water quality by boosting oxygen levels in the water, increasing circulation,
breaking down organic matter in the discharge and helping to control odor. Crews have
skimmed waterways and installed turbidity curtains to collect and remove debris.
While typically the state and county take the lead on water quality testing and
reporting, the commission has stated that we would like our staff to assume a larger
role here and ensure that our residents have easy access to all the information
available about existing conditions of our waterways. This is about transparency in
government, and such information is important to boaters, fishing enthusiasts,
kayakers, paddle-boarders and those who live along the water.
We are determined to take such steps to promote a healthier environment. It’s important to
our residents and our visitors and to us as stewards of both our natural surroundings and
native wildlife. Let me turn to an update on our progress upgrading our infrastructure. We
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