Biscayne Bay gets a chief officer to spearhead cleanup and develop pollution limits
The sudden drop in oxygen levels that killed thousands of fish in north Biscayne Bay last month produced at least one positive effect: a new impetus for action to save the bay.
Politicians, scientists and activists are talking and coordinating plans after decades of ignored warning signs and partially implemented efforts to fix the bay’s pollution problems.
Miami-Dade County will hire a bay chief to spearhead a plan to restore the bay’s health, drawing on data and reports produced over the past few years about its failing health. Commissioners vowed to impose strict nutrient pollution limits and to get to work on urgent policies needed to address the bay’s woes. During a county commission meeting this week everyone seemed to agree on the urgency to get moving before another fish kill, seagrass die-off or massive algae bloom happens.
“It’s so urgent. Everyone here agrees with that,” said Commissioner Daniella Levine Cava. “It’s sad it took this unexpected death of thousands of sea creatures, and the death of the bay, to call our attention to take action.”
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The new chief bay officer, who Mayor Carlos Gimenez said will be fully dedicated to the role and not do double duty, is a key recommendation in the final report of a county-ordered task force formed last year to implement lasting measures to restore the bay. Gimenez said the new officer and staff will be included in next year’s budget.
Commissioners also pledged to implement the task force’s recommendations, which focus on water quality issues in the short term but also seek to set new limits on pollution going into the bay. The success of the potential targets will hinge on expensive infrastructure investments to fix aging wastewater and stormwater systems and on the conversion of thousands of septic tanks to sewer. A permanent oversight body to clean up the bay and make sure pollution stays under control is also included in the task force’s proposals.
The fish kill that started near Morningside Park, south of the Little River in the Julia Tuttle Basin, has created new momentum for action, said Irela Bagué, who chaired the task force that met 18 times in as many months to go over studies and data about the bay. The work of the group built on documents such as a 2019 Miami-Dade grand jury report that said Biscayne Bay had reached a tipping point, and studies by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that concluded the bay was undergoing a large-scale ecosystem change.
Though the county is still investigating what exactly caused the fish kill, scientists said that hot water temperatures and low circulation patterns drove oxygen levels down after heavy rains led more nutrient pollution to reach the bay through the Little River and the Miami River.
The drastic loss of seagrass in the northern section of the bay starting in 2011 may also have worsened water quality in the area. Seagrass plays a key role in keeping coastal ecosystems healthy as they help replenish oxygen and provide habitat for baby fish, shrimp and other crustaceans.
And freshwater is also important to keep the bay healthy. Small projects to undo the damage from decades of drainage in more than 11,000 acres of wetlands framing the western edge of the bay have been implemented under the broader Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, known as CERP. But the process is slow as it involves purchasing privately owned land. Work completed so far, for example, helped direct water into wetlands around the Deering Estate and led to the recovery of coastal ecosystems in the bay.
As the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers continues to work on Everglades restoration projects, it announced it was starting public hearings for a feasibility study about a restoration project for Biscayne Bay and the southwestern Everglades. The project aims to send more fresh water to those areas.
“The BBSEER Feasibility Study is focused on formulating plans to restore parts of the south Florida ecosystem in freshwater wetlands of the Southern Glades and Model Lands, the coastal wetlands and subtidal areas, including mangrove and seagrass areas, of Biscayne Bay, Biscayne National Park, Manatee Bay, Card Sound and Barnes Sound,” the Corps said in a statement on Tuesday. “These areas have been affected by over-drainage and by damaging freshwater releases from canals, such as the C-111 Canal.”
This story was originally published September 2, 2020 at 10:02 AM.
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