Return of the Green Monster?

During the summer of 2005, the St. Johns River experienced a massive algae bloom of historic proportions. The bloom was caused by an excessive amount of nutrients, nitrogen and phosphorous, from industrial and utility wastewater discharge, stormwater runoff from our lawns, agricultural runoff, and failing septic tanks. The bloom was detrimental to the health of the river and to many local businesses that directly or indirectly derive benefit from the St. Johns River. The toxins in the algae were even harmful to the health of humans. As bad as the algae bloom was, it served as a wakeup call for our communities that our river is sick and something must be done.

Senator Jim King - "God in his infinite wisdom sent us a message when he did the blue green algae. I think he said, 'Hey guys, I've given you this river...but you haven't taken care of it well enough."

Even though the alarm bells sounded, we still have a river that is sick and polluted with too many nutrients and vulnerable to another massive bloom. In fact, the St. Johns River and its tributaries are also suffering from high levels of fecal bacteria, sedimentation from construction-site runoff, low levels of dissolved oxygen, the loss of important wetlands, and the lack of political will to adequately enforce and uphold our laws and regulations that are supposed to protect our river's health.

Environmental Protection Agency - Impaired Waters for Lower St. Johns

EPA - Impaired Waters for Upper St. Johns