We’re back on the red tide roller coaster

Water temperatures have warmed up into the mid-70s, and it’s gotten worse. Dead fish rot faster in warm water, and they’re just feeding the bloom.

I understand we can’t prevent red tide blooms. Yes, they have been around forever. But it’s difficult for me to accept that it’s sheer coincidence that bloom concentrations match up with densely developed populations. Red tide problems have increased in frequency and intensity with our unmitigated growth.

If I’m wrong, then can you tell me why the waters north of Tarpon Springs still have seagrasses, scallops, and healthy habitats full of fish? They also still have saltmarsh wetlands that filter runoff. Charlotte Harbor’s ecosystem used to look very similar, and it supported vast quantities of sea life. Our waterways worked — until humans stepped in and “fixed” it for profit.

Where is the money coming from and flowing back to for all this rampant growth? It’s not local growth. It’s outsiders moving in. They’re here for the weather and for the taxes, but also for the water.

Look at Hardee County (just north of DeSoto County) to understand how important the water is. In 1980, Hardee County had about 20,000 residents. In 2020, there were about 25,000. That’s 25 percent growth over 40 years. In the same time span, Charlotte County went from 58,000 to 187,000 — a 222 percent increase. What’s the difference? Charlotte Harbor.

I do want to point out that Syd Kitson’s Babcock Ranch development is a great example of how to responsibly create and develop a community. It stalled for a while and waited until the economy would support it. Then has followed its well thought-out plans to grow, setting an example of how it can be done without trashing our natural resources. Well done!

I’m constantly asked about how we got here with red tide. Here are some thoughts, based on my 50 years on our waters and a lot of reading. First, dredging the Intracoastal Waterway altered the natural flushing flows of our Gulf Coast waters from Fort Myers to Tarpon Springs. It sounded like a good idea to have an inland waterway to safely navigate up and down our coast.

Unfortunately, they proceeded with concern for cost and didn’t worry about impacts to water flow. We created problems that restricted the cleansing flows and currents required to maintain our Gulf passes. This also affected natural sand movements on our beaches, leading to the need for repeated beach renourishment.

Then, we have the canal mazes of Port Charlotte, Punta Gorda, Cape Coral and Marco Island. We created thousands of miles of dead-end canals to build up waterfront properties. These waterways lack paths for flushing. They are stagnant, gathering nutrients that feed algae blooms, including blue-green algae thrive in fresh water but die in salty waters and then feed red tide.

Coastal road construction cut off the estuary from the natural sheet flow. You can see the effects clearly in the Babcock-Webb WMA, where rainwater now collects instead of gradually flowing into the east side of Charlotte Harbor. I-75, U.S. 41 and Burnt Store Road act as dams to hold it back. Plans are now underway to restore some of this flow, but it will never be like it was.

We destroyed the natural wetlands that filtered our runoff, and then funneled that runoff directly into streams and bays, putting nutrient pollution right where it can cause problems.

People didn’t create red tide. But we have certainly done a lot to feed it and create a great environment for it. We are the primary source of our own problems.

As Pogo Possum said so many years ago, we have met the enemy — and he is us.

Remember, you can’t catch fish if you don’t go fishin’, so let’s go fishin’ soon.