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Water Essay

Decent Essays

Southwest Florida is seen as the crowning jewel when it comes to the beach and tourist stops. Most are only here for a few weeks or months and never really see the changes in our environment. But, recently, the water quality around southwest florida has been drastically changing. This change is due to the water being released into Lake Okeechobee. The lake which harbors brown sludge which chokes out oyster beds, kills off fish, and more harm to the wildlife in the neighboring water ecosystems (Reid). Because of the harmful effects of this water releases, many groups have come together to start to fight the releasing of water in an attempt to protect their waters. Lake Okeechobee is located in central Florida and spans about 730 miles …show more content…

If the estrary is lost because of a bacteria outbreak, the local commercial fisheries would be hit hard. As would the commercial oyster beds. When the water reaches the coast, the constant sunlight turns the toxic water into brown and green sludge which blocks out the sunlight and does not allow the oysters and life underneath to thrive or survive (Gills). If the issue persists, as it will, the local life will be stripped of the wonderful beauty it once had. Even though the water releases was enacted to protect the local people from the risk of flooding many groups have started to protests releases in an attempt to save the coastlines. On the morning of a release in early February 2016, a big group went to stand outside of the Army Corps engineering office trying to protect their local waters. The reporter Ruiz, received a quote from the woman as follows, “ When they discharge, I see dead dolphins, I see dead birds, and I see dead fish,” (Ruiz). This quote turns the heads from worrying about seagrass to actual living creatures losing their lives because of the water release. There is hope to see change soon to hopefully protect what little wild life is left. The local officials are beginning to see the effects of the water releases into the coastlines. They are beginning to brainstorm solutions as to how

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