Trish Hartmann wrote:
>

> Dear Marcus & Listers,
>
> It is pretty strange that Prozac is present in our rivers ... I do
> wonder what else is out there! Ritalin ... Zanax ... digoxin ...
>
> Trish

Every day, the six ocean outfalls in Palm Beach, Broward, and Dade
counties dump 300 million gallons of partially treated sewage. The prime
concern is the huge amounts of nitrogen and phosphorous which is feeding
algae blooms that is destroying the reefs and decimating the mollusk
populations.

But the analyses of this effluent also show an amazing variety of
over-the-counter and prescription drugs and other household products.

One mouthpiece for the treatment facilities stated, "While it is
probably true that some damage to the reef occurs, it is also likely to
be true that the reef is a medium providing an additional state of
treatment, thus enhancing the eventual purification of the effluent that
occurs in the sea. ... It is logical and feasible for our local
municipalities to do so..."

While this attitude has changed in much of the world, certain ignorant
populations and impoverished nations - some Africn coastal countries,
Haiti, South Florida e.g. - continue to dump in the rivers and oceans
and onto the reefs. It's cheap and it's out of sight.

Right now, a green algae bloom is decimating the already weakened reefs
of South Florida. Harbor Branch has identified samples as primarily
Cladophora liniformis (about 70%), about 25% Enteromorpha prolifera, and
less than 5% Centroceras clavulatum, indicating a sewage-nutrient cause.

The ONLY organization doing ANYTHING to STOP this violation of the
federal Clean Water Act is Reef Rescue, a volunteer group of divers
operating with an annual budget of $20,000 all donated. Reef Rescue is
using the legal process to force the Florida DEP to refuse operating
permits to these outfalls, and has forced one of the six to develop
alternative treatment for implementation in two years.

One down, five to go.

But the outfall operators have commissioned a $600,000 study to prove
that (a) the Gulf Stream flows from north to south, thus avoiding the
reefs and (b) 300,000,000 gallons of ocean-dumped sewage a day won't
hurt the near-shore flora and fauna anyway. The study is being done by
NOAA!!!!!

Our website is woefully out of date (budget constraints) but you can
learn more (and make a contribution, PLEASE) at reef www.reef-rescue.org

mg

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