Staff Writer
Statewide focus needed for St. Johns River
City Council President Jack Webb vowed to focus on the preservation of the St. Johns River during his term and he began by organizing “The Health of the St. Johns River Community Conversation.”
On Thursday, St. Johns River stakeholders met at Council Chambers for answers about what caused the recent algae blooms and fish kills and to determine how to improve the health of the ailing river.
“Our purpose for being here is not to blame or point fingers, but to find answers for what is happening with the river and what can be done to improve the conditions of the river,” said Webb.
Webb was joined by State Sen. John Thrasher; Mayor John Peyton; Council members John Crescimbeni, Bill Bishop and Don Redman; Greg Strong of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection; Jan Landsberg of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission; Jeff Cole of the St. Johns River Water Management District; Dr. Aaron Hilliard of the Duval County Department of Health; Robert Schuster of the City’s Environmental Protection Board; and Quinton White of the Jacksonville University Marine Science Research Institute.
When it came to finding an answer about what caused the recent algal blooms and fish kills, no one knew where to point.
“With the testing that has been done, we have not been able to establish a single cause for algal blooms and fish kills,” said Strong. “The toxin levels have been low or undetectable. Low levels of dissolved oxygen can lead to fish kills after algal blooms, but we haven’t seen those low levels.”
Landsberg shared Strong’s frustration.
“This makes us puzzled and concerned because we don’t know how it’s happening,” she said. “The water quality looked good. The oxygen levels were good. So this is a mystery as to why we were having fish kills.”
Redfish, menhaden, shad, gar and catfish were involved in the fish kills.
“There isn’t an easy answer, but we are continuing our investigation,” said Landsberg. “Overall, we all recognize the need to manage the algae.”
A member of the City’s Environmental Protection Board pointed at the City and himself. Schuster is chair of the board that is required to “study, promulgate and enforce appropriate rules for environmental protection.”
“I don’t think we have effective enforcement of the City’s rules,” said Schuster. “There is a personal responsibility here, but we feel education will help to change people’s behavior.”
The group agreed that the education and changes needed to reach beyond Duval County borders.
“This is not a Jacksonville problem,” said White. “It’s a St. Johns River Basin problem.”
Peyton agreed.
“One of the challenges I wrestled with when we signed the St. Johns River Accord is that a majority of the nutrients will be coming to the basin from outside of Duval County,” said Peyton.
“Nearly 80 percent of our nutrient load is coming from outside of our county, so if we do our best and take care of our part, that is only going to be 20 percent. This is a statewide issue. The real challenge is building a consensus among leaders in the river basin,” he said.
Peyton presented a goal for the group.
“I hope that one of the deliverables from this discussion is that we develop a road map to make this a statewide issue,” said Peyton.
Thrasher related the idea to what is happening with the restoration of the Everglades and the group that has formed to take on that task.
“I couldn’t agree with you more,” said Thrasher. “If you can develop a plan that can be funded on an annual basis, I will give that the highest priority I can during the next session.”
Webb was pleased with the discussion, information and ideas that developed from the meeting.
“This has been a great continuation of the efforts that have been ongoing to care for the river,” said Webb. “We need to change the way people think about polluting the river and make it socially unacceptable.”
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