Last Stand Information Forum:  “Water Quality – What the Experts Say”

(Key West, FL – May 21, 2008)

Over 100 Last Stand members and concerned citizens packed the auditorium of NOAA's Eco-Discovery Center in Key West Wednesday evening, May 14, for a public program on near-shore water quality in the Florida Keys.

The panel assembled for the program by Last Stand consisted of Monroe County Health Department’s Bobbi Sleighter, Reef Relief’s Mike McCleary ,  Scott Donahue of NOAA’s Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, Assistant Key West City Manager David Fernandez, and Paul J. Mitchell, a professional engineer and long-time Key West resident.

Forum moderator and Last Stand board member Amy Lachat Lynch, after introducing the panel, gave each panelist a topic which they had been given earlier, on which to comment. 

Bobbi Sleighter, asked to describe Monroe County’s water quality monitoring program, told the audience there are seventeen locations in the Keys regularly monitored, five of them in Key West.  Samples are taken on Tuesday of each week, and tested for concentrations of fecal coliform and enterococcus bacteria, the primary bugs found in sewage.  Testing has been going on for eight years.  Although Key West’s sewage system, overhauled over several years, has resulted in fewer “hits” (i.e. test results showing unsafe contamination levels) than 8 years ago, unsafe levels are observed fairly regularly at Higgs Beach and South Beach in Key West.  These “hits” are more frequent following heavy rain events, a significant fact.

Paul Mitchell was asked to describe how general water conditions have changed over the several decades he’s been in the Keys.  Mitchell said that in terms of clarity and general quality, deterioration has been “profound and dramatic”, especially in enclosed bodies of water such as Garrison Bight, Key West Bight, and Safe Harbor on Stock Island.   He said that dredging and closing off of these bodies had a lot to do with the worsening conditions, which have taken place gradually over a long time.  He noted that he has not immersed himself in Garrison Bight since 2004, and isn’t likely ever to again.

Scott Donahue was asked to summarize water quality regulations that exist in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.  He gave a brief history of regulations beginning in the early 1970s restricting discharge of oil and toxic chemicals from ships, and up to the present with the “2010 rule”, EPA’s edict that the Florida Keys must stop discharging sewage into Keys waters by 2010.  He noted that within the Keys Marine Sanctuary, prohibitions are more stringent in No Discharge zones.

David Fernandez was asked to comment on Key West’s sewage and stormwater treatment systems.  Fernandez noted that at one point in 1999, every beach in Key West was closed due to sewage contamination.  The city of Key West then embarked on a seven-year capital program to upgrade its sewage system, and that the program was completed in three years.  Ocean outfalls of treated effluent, previously outfalls of raw sewage, were replaced with deep injection wells.  He noted that Key West’s wastewater plant meets stringent Advanced Wastewater Treatment standards, exceeding minimum requirements.  The city spent $67 million on its upgrade, and citizens and businesses spent $22 million upgrading laterals and plumbing on private property.  Fernandez noted that Key West’ system has won awards for its advanced treatment.

He acknowledged that stormwater collection and treatment is still a huge problem… that during heavy rains, millions of gallons per day flow into the ocean through outfalls as well as into injection wells, and that stormwater contains numerous contaminants, including fecal matter, petroleum products, all kinds of nasty things.  The city is working on its stormwater system and still has a long ways to go.

Mike McCleary of Reef Relief was asked to comment on No Discharge Zones and Reef Relief’s take on what can be done to reduce near-shore water pollution.  McCleary noted that the reef is dying, partly due to global warming, and partly due to what we are putting into the water, both from land, and from the numerous boats and ships that ply our waters.  He noted that Monroe County has the state’s largest number of registered boats.  No Discharge Zones were extended in 2002 to include all state waters within the National Marine Sanctuary, but that the jury is still out on their effectiveness.  He also said that cruise ships discharge up to 30,000 gallons of waste (treated and untreated) per ship per day, but that they’re prohibited from doing so within 3 miles outside of state waters.  He said that No Discharge Zones need to be expanded to include federal waters, which extend farther offshore.  Some discussion of cruise ship discharges ensued, with Key West Ports Director Ray Archer commenting that cruise ships in general voluntarily refrain from discharging waste within 12 miles of shore.  Discussion included the possibility of requiring cruise ships to pump out into a city facility to avoid ocean dumping, but Fernandez noted that such pumpouts would far exceed the capacity of Key West’s waste treatment facility and would require storage capacity that does not exist.

Following the panelists’ comments on the above topics, the audience directed questions to the panelists.  Among other things, people wanted to know: 

-         why Fort Zachary Taylor consistently shows only low levels of contamination, the reason being that there’s good flow of water past that point, and that there’s no stormwater discharge near there. 

-         what kind of testing is used to distinguish between human sewage sources and that of animals, the answer being that DNA testing has shown that some is from humans, and some is from other creatures, including domestic pets, wild animals such as sea birds, and that more can be done to contain contamination from some sources than from others. 

-         why does it even matter whether contamination is from humans or animals, since it’s all pollution; the answer is that different types of bacterial contamination are handled by different systems, human sewage in the sewers, and most animal sources are in storm runoff. 

-         why we don’t re-use treated wastewater since it’s treated to Advanced Wastewater Treatment (AWT) standards; the answer is that re-use of treated water is likely feasible for some uses, but treatment doesn’t remove all contaminants (e.g. pharmaceuticals and other contaminants) and therefore isn’t safe for drinking. 

-         what the extent of contamination is in bottom sediments; it was noted that a variety of contaminants are present in sediments that settle on the bottom, including heavy metals such as lead, copper, arsenic, and that activities such as dredging, and stormwater runoff can re-suspend contaminants in bottom sediment. 

-         why, if some cruise ship ports have enacted their own standards more strict than federal standards, Key West isn’t willing to (Monterrey, California was cited as an example);  there seemed to be no answer to that question that was satisfactory to the audience.  It was stated that the cruise industry is “working in the right direction”, but not everybody was satisfied by that. 

-         what the status is on modifying rules to allow old septic tanks to be converted to cisterns for use in storing water for irrigation of plants, etc.  The answer is that modifying those rules “is underway”. 

-         what the single worst source of contamination is; overwhelmingly, all panelists stated that stormwater is the single worst source.  (It should be noted that stormwater is only the vehicle for contaminants’ reaching the water; each contaminant still has an ultimate source, but that was not mentioned.)  

-         why North Stock Island’s wastewater isn’t treated by Key West’s AWT system; the less-than-satisfactory answer was that Stock Island has an “approved” system, begging the question.

-         why wild birds’ waste can’t be collected; the answer is that they are wild, and that we can’t eradicate wild birds nor diaper them. 

-         what can be done to reduce contaminants in stormwater; some measures that can be taken include picking up pet waste, maintaining vehicles so they don’t leak oil, care in disposing of wastes such as oil, antifreeze, etc, reduction or elimination of lawn fertilizers, etc. 

-         why tests at Higgs and South Beach consistently show higher levels of contaminants; because they are near stormwater outfalls. 

From the thoughtful questions posed by the assembled citizens, it was obvious that the residents here are very concerned about water quality, and demand that local policymakers become even more concerned than they are.  It is clear that if places like Monterrey, California can enact and enforce standards more stringent than minimum federal standards, there is significant local support for our local and state governments’ doing so.