NBC-2
September 7, 2016
Volunteer group plans own testing of Caloosahatchee waters
A group of volunteer environmentalists is fed up with waiting for something to be done about the brown water, so now they're doing their own independent testing on the Caloosahatchee River.
Riverwatch, a group advocating for protecting our waters, is now joining the Waterkeeper's Alliance, a worldwide leader in clean water on six continents.
"This is an international organization that tries to clean up the waters for the world, and now we are a part of that," said Phillip Schwartz of Riverwatch.
Nearly every day, Riverwatch is expected to have someone behind the wheel of their new boat, testing, monitoring, and bringing us the latest on water quality.
"Oftentimes we get reports, but they're a day or two later and anecdotal. We will have live action tweeting for you, video for you, on a day-to-day basis," said Mary Rawl of Riverwatch.
It's no easy task, but one that Riverwatch hopes will make it easier and quicker to monitor the health of the river.
"Every lawn that is put in our watershed has run off into the river. Every new pipe that goes into the river is again a potential source of pollution," said Rawl.
Bringing attention to the problems caused by the water releases from Lake Okeechobee is just the start.
"We need to show them that the river can be cleaner, that the river is essentially a polluted river," said Schwartz.
The non-profit group is looking for support from the community to help pay for this new job long term. They are also looking to hire a new executive director to help manage the program.