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Special Feature

Defending Our Waterways

Resilience Matters

WHAT’S NEXT? Mangrove Reef Wall panel attachments to private home in Fort Pierce

ort Lauderdale’s waterways and beaches are priceless could include mangrove restoration, updating seawalls and
to our local community. The boat show alone brings water quality projects, but could not be used to repair pipes.
Fin over $1 billion to the local economy. Tourists and
local residents enjoy swimming at our beautiful beaches, Waterways Quality and the City
paddleboarding and kayaking throughout our 165 miles of Our Fort Lauderdale waterways are Florida Department of
navigable waterways. Fishing lines are cast daily from land Environmental Protection Class III Waters, designated for
and offshore. Our Venice of America is booming. recreational activities and maintaining a healthy and well
balanced marine eco-system.
But sadly, like the waters in Venice, our waters are consistently
being contaminated from broken sewer line spills, storm-water “Waterway quality continues to be a City Commission priority,”
runoff, live-aboard dumping, plastics, fertilizer, landscape says Dr. Nancy Gassman, Assistant Director of Public Works
waste, and other harmful contaminants. In our recent historic and Sustainability for the City of Fort Lauderdale. “In lieu of
flooding event alone, bacteria in our canals and waterways the $3.1 million fine, the city proposed three in-kind projects
surged from 38 to 144 times higher than levels the EPA deems with water quality features estimated at a value of $4.6 million.
safe for swimming. The three projects included the River Oaks Neighborhood
Stormwater Improvements, the Edgewood Neighborhood
We all remember the over 200 million gallons of toxic Stormwater Improvements and the restoration of the Osceola
waste that spilled into our streets, rivers and canals back Creek from SW 32nd Place to Marina Boulevard.”
in December 2019 and early 2020. The State fined Fort
Lauderdale $2.1 million because of it. According to the Sun Realizing our contaminated water could be creating a
Sentinel, this was not only the largest spill, but the largest health hazard, in January 2021, our city hired the Miami
penalty in our state’s history. The city was given the option to Waterkeeper water-quality monitoring program to test for
put that fine money towards more than $3.1 million worth of bacteria levels in our waterways. Ten sites were chosen based
future environmental restoration projects. Qualifying projects on high contamination levels and those with the highest rate of
recreational activity. Those sites are Annie Beck Park, Coontie

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