[log in to unmask] wrote:

> The Queen in Florida is having trouble reproducing due to poor water quality.
> Many studies have been done in the area and the Queens are simply not
> fertile. another problem is that in the St. Lucie area, at least, there were many
> reproducing Queens, but the Army Corps of Engineers let thousands of gallons of
> fresh water through the canals and killed them all.
>   The main conclusions can only be that poor water management is the main
> culprit.
>            Carole Marshall
>
>
Water management is certainly one of the culprits, but not the
only one. I believe the main water management problem is the
high nitrogen content of both treated effluent and runoff
containing fertilizers. Queens are vegetarians and picky eaters.
The high nitrogen content is supporting a huge increase in
cyanobacteria which is changing the balance of algae, grasses,
and soft corals.

A good friend has been studying the cyanobacteria blooms on the
local (Boynton) reef, and has proven beyond doubt that the
levels are the direct result of nitrogen level in the Boca Raton
outflow, which happens to be at the southern edge of the reef
system.

There is a pilot plant in the Keys which is the first treatment
plant in the country to expel pure water. (Treatment plants do
not purify water, they only remove material toxic to humans.
Nitrogen and most organics are not considered harmful.)

It's not the fresh water, it's what's in the water.

m

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