Over the past two months, our city has experienced the best of times and the worst of times.
We christened our new Oceanside Park and experienced innovative entertainment venues such as The Wharf and pop-up places in both the MASS Art District and FAT Village. Yet, we also were met with challenges that truly tested the mettle of our city staff and our neighbors as we suffered break after break in our sewer and water systems.
We are a proud city because of the talent and commitment our city workers have shown in responding to this crisis. We are equally proud in knowing that members of our community for their patience and perseverance. I personally want to thank both our staff and our neighbors for working together as we pull through this challenge.
Construction crews are making great progress, and soon we will have an infrastructure system second to none. While this work continues, the City Commission and I also have instructed the city administration to look at ways to improve the quality of our waterways.
I have long said that the city’s environment needs special focus and have championed efforts for clean waterways. It is our beaches, rivers and canals that make Fort Lauderdale such an amazing place to live and visit. We are the Venice of America and must do our utmost to protect these vital natural resources.
My concerns were initially heightened several years ago when green algae blooms mysteriously appeared in canals in the Las Olas neighborhoods. We never witnessed this before, and it pointed to a need to prevent the degradation of our waterways.
The city’s former administration dismissed my suggestions that something needed to be done. They said concern was unwarranted. They denied the blooms posed any health hazard even though test results my office obtained from Broward County showed the opposite.
The attitude at City Hall changed dramatically when this new City Commission was elected.
In the current year’s budget, we agreed to invest in research on the blooms and to hire contractors to mitigate their impact. We also funded free pump-out facilities for boats in case any of the high level of nutrients was due to illegal waste-dumping by boaters.
Following recent events, the commission has committed itself to additional steps.
The city will be undertaking an environmental analysis of the conditions of George English Lake and the rivers impacted by the sewage spills. Based on these results, we will determine a course of action to restore them. In addition to cleaning the waterways, we also must determine any long-standing sources of pollution and address them.
Immediate, emergency action is already underway.
The city has deployed dozens of aerators to improve water quality by boosting oxygen levels in the water, increasing circulation, breaking down organic matter in the discharge and helping to control odor. Crews have skimmed waterways and installed turbidity curtains to collect and remove debris.
While typically the state and county take the lead on water quality testing and reporting, the commission has stated that we would like our staff to assume a larger role here and ensure that our residents have easy access to all the information available about existing conditions of our waterways. This is about transparency in government, and such information is important to boaters, fishing enthusiasts, kayakers, paddle-boarders and those who live along the water.
We are determined to take such steps to promote a healthier environment. It’s important to our residents and our visitors and to us as stewards of both our natural surroundings and native wildlife.
Several months after I became mayor, I signed a compact with other coastal cities around the world to recognize the urgency to re-balance the relationship between human development and our natural environment. We must place a premium on our natural resources.
