Breach may be main culprit of Hurricane Debby flooding in Sarasota

After a more than three-hour workshop to address the flooding brought by Tropical Storm Debby, Sarasota County commissioners arrived at the conclusion that they need at least one more workshop. On Jan. 21, commissioners heard from Public Works director Spencer Anderson, independent stormwater engineer Steve Suau and dozens of members of the public, all weighing in on what led to the historic flooding brought by Tropical Storm Debby, and what may be done to prevent similar future catastrophes. Most heavily impacted were the Laurel Meadows area east of I-75, the Colonial Oaks and Colonial Gables neighbors west of the interstate, and continuing west into the Pinecraft community. What they all have in common is Phillippi Creek, a basin that drains 57 square miles of some of the most densely populated areas in Sarasota County from the Cow Pen Slough into the bay.

Sarasota’s Mote Marine unveils tech to fight harmful red tide blooms

Researchers showcased innovative tools to combat red tide at Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota on Wednesday. The advancements will target the harmful algal blooms affecting Southwest Florida. Steve McKenzie, from Prescott Clean Water Technologies, highlighted the effectiveness of Ozonix, a new technology developed by Prescott. “It winds up killing all the red tide, eliminating 100% of the toxins,” he said. The advanced tools, including XTREME, Ozonix, and Clear, are at the forefront of science in tackling red tide. These blooms harm marine life, damage coastlines, and release airborne toxins.

Midnight Pass: what does the science say?

Storms in September (Helene) and October (Milton) of 2024 opened Midnight Pass, located at the south end of Siesta Key/north end of Casey Key. This pass now allows water from the Gulf of Mexico to exchange and flow into Little Sarasota Bay, an exchange that hasn't happened since the pass was closed in 1983. Below, we explore what this means from a water quality and habitat standpoint, and what the options are moving forward.

State Surgeon General Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo Issues Community Water Fluoridation Guidance

Tallahassee, Fla.—Today, State Surgeon General Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo announced guidance recommending against community water fluoridation due to the neuropsychiatric risk associated with fluoride exposure. Fluoride is a naturally occurring chemical compound present in groundwater, fresh and salt water, rainwater, soil, plants, and foods. Community water fluoridation is the process of adjusting the amount of fluoride in drinking water to a level recommended to prevent tooth decay. Historically, community water fluoridation was considered to be a method to systemically, through ingestion, deliver fluoride to all community members. However, currently many municipalities across the U.S. and several European countries, including Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, and Sweden, have eliminated water fluoridation. Today, fluoride is widely available from multiple sources, including topical fluorides, such as toothpaste, mouthwashes, and fluoride applications by dental providers. Evidence shows fluoride strengthens teeth, making them more decay resistant. However, additional research is being conducted to review the impacts of overall fluoride exposure in the population.

Hot cars and greenhouse gases – how are they related?

During his confirmation hearing earlier this week, Lee Zeldin, the newly appointed Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Director, was asked about the linked issues of climate change and greenhouse gases. His responses were that he believes that climate change is real, and that CO2 is a pollutant that can contribute to climate change. In that, Mr. Zeldin is aligned with Governor DeSantis’ former and current Chief Science Officers, Drs. Tom Frazer and Mark Rains, respectively. And also aligned with the SBEP’s 2022 Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan update, which mentions climate change nearly 100 times.

Climate change is real, and its impacts are beginning to manifest themselves in our region. Our air temperature is warmer now than the average conditions we experienced across the 20th Century. Both the Gulf of Mexico and Sarasota Bay are warmer now than they were several decades ago, as we’ve pointed out in prior Director’s Notes. Increased water temperatures are providing more “fuel” for tropical weather events, which is likely why there is a clear trend towards an increase in “major” hurricanes (Category 3 and higher) over the past few decades in the North Atlantic Basin. When you fire up the burners at the bottom of a hot air balloon, you increase what is called the “kinetic energy” of the air within the balloon’s envelope. This causes the air molecules (mostly di-nitrogen gas) to bounce against each other more often (and with greater force) increasing the space between each other, resulting in lower amounts of air molecules in a given space. This brings about decreased density, which is why hot air balloons rise up off the ground. Well, warm water expands in response to heat in a similar manner, but not outward, but upward, and onto our shorelines, which is the basis for the accelerated rate of sea level rise we’ve seen over the past few decades. We’ve had sea level rise ever since the last glacial maximum, about 20,000 years ago. But the average rate over the past few thousand years has been about 1 inch a decade, while we’ve experienced about 6 inches of sea level rise over the past 20 years alone. With a tidal range of about 18 inches, this means that by the year 2055, our average sea level should approximate what today’s high tide is, and high tide would likely be 9 inches stacked on top of that. Not a tsunami of water over our seawalls on a daily basis, but we expect more street and neighborhood flooding in low-lying areas, particularly if it rains on a high tide.