Waterways Committee Passes Motion to Restore Marco Waterbody

In a rare show of unity, the Marco Island Waterways Advisory Committee (WAC) voted 7:0 in favor of a motion that will pave the way for restoration of the Marco waterbody to pre-development levels. Members of the committee include Chair David Crain, Vice-chair Bill Trotter and members Martin Winter, Steve Sokol, Eugene Wordehoff, Phillip Thompson and Michael Welty.

The motion recommends that the City publicly issue a Request for Information (RFI) to interested parties related to the best value technology methods to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus in the Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) reuse water that is distributed by the City for irrigation as well as to the golf courses, condos and hotels here. This is an opportunity to learn best methods available to correct the harm that excessive nutrients have on Marco Island.

Technology such as this is now being used by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) to clean up the disaster at Piney Point, south of Tampa Bay. The costs of these proven FDEP technologies may be as low as $500,000 to install. An option is available to lease the equipment and only “pay for performance” as is being done at Piney Point. Pay for performance means that the City is charged only for the phosphorus and nitrogen removed from the reuse water, and not a fixed price or any up-front capital. The FDEP Innovative Technologies Portal has now opened with grant money of up to 100% for projects such as this on Marco Island

Marco has an opportunity to take a leadership position and demonstrate, using safe and effective technology, how to resolve a massive and vexing problem in the state of Florida. Preliminary investigation of the 22 waterbodies supervised by Collier County show that this same problem exists across the county and perhaps across the entire state of Florida i.e., reuse water with excessive levels of nutrients adversely affecting the oxygen in the waterbodies.

With the offending nutrients removed from the reuse water, the oxygen levels will “snap back” to healthy levels almost immediately. This has been shown in statistical correlations between the phosphorus in the reuse water and the low oxygen levels in the waterbody. The “smoking gun” was found from data during a five-month period between 2019 and 2020 when the phosphorus levels of the reuse water dropped, and the oxygen levels in the waterbody popped up. This quick response is more than likely due to the tide on the island which has a major flushing effect. The tides will flush the waterbody clean and then over time clean up the sediments in the bays and canals, if the constant nutrient source from the reuse water is eliminated.

Getting the oxygen back into the waterbody will allow for seagrass restoration to proceed. Without removing the offending nutrients from the reuse water, these restoration programs fail. With restored seagrass the Manatee will return to the bays and canals. The oyster beds are about to “explode” according to a study completed in 2021 but are now prevented from doing so by the excessive nutrient loads of the reuse water. The algal blooms will recede, the water will clear up, and it might even be tempting to take a swim again in the Marco bays and canals.

This motion will now go to Marco Island City Council for deliberation.

Eugene Wordehoff

Citizen of Marco Island