Hypoxic Dead Zone in Collier County

The Collier County Hypoxic Zone, or Dead Zone, an area of low oxygen that can kill fish and marine life, covers seven watersheds in the county. 

This “dead zone” begins innocently enough. Sewage treatment plants distribute reuse waters (partially treated sewage) that are loaded with fertilizer nutrients. The “Purple Pipes” program saved the Florida aquifer. Reuse is good, right? 

Farmers also use fertilizers to increase the output of their crops so that we can have more food on our tables and more food to sell to the rest of the world. More food is good, right?

Nutrients fuel algal blooms that then sink, decompose, and deplete the water of oxygen. This is hypoxia, when oxygen in the water is so low it can no longer sustain marine life in bottom or near bottom waters - literally, a dead zone.

When the water reaches this hypoxic state, fish leave the area and anything that can't escape like crabs, worms, and clams die. Birds leave the area as their food source has vanished. All wildlife leaves the hypoxic zones to seek food elsewhere.

This dead zone covers a significant area of the CREW. The Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed (CREW) is a 60,000-acre watershed in southwest Florida – the largest intact watershed of its kind in the region.

Florida residents must add an amendment to the Florida constitution for a Right to Clean Water (RTCW). Sign the petition: https://www.floridarighttocleanwater.org