Slimy smelly Monster

OUR DIRTY LITTLE SECRET

There's a dirty secret lurking in Century Village. A slimy, smelly and potentially dangerous  monster that has taken up residence in the pond.

At first glance the pond looks beautiful and benign , the tranquility of the shimmering waters with birds busily hunting for food surrounded by manicured lawns and gorgeous flowering trees
conceals the drama taking place below.

The truth is that the water has become infested with algae. Green, slimy, toxic and just downright nasty algae.

It may not seem like algae is a big deal , but it is a killer, it depletes oxygen in the water column causing the death of aquatic organisms, it contains pathogens that are a hazard to humans, especially those with compromised immune systems and can kill animals who ingest it . When it dies it produces vile smelly gases that waft around the surrounding areas and leaves unsightly stinking mush floating on the surface, the mush eventually falls to the bottom, smothering it and killing organisms that live there, and drifts into unsightly piles on the shoreline. Algae also blocks sunlight from reaching the depths where aquatic plants need it to flourish.

Given the right conditions algae can suddenly bloom explosively as seen in the recent overwhelming pollution of the St Lucie river that has been decried as an environmental disaster. The blame for that disaster has been laid squarely at the feet of the big sugar industry that has for years been dumping water loaded with chemical fertilizers into Lake Okeechobee. The release of those waters with
their accompanying chemical overload of nitrogen and phosphates allowed algae to overwhelm the whole ecosystem and destroy the river from top to bottom and end to end.

The situation in our beloved pond is much the same. The water reclamation plant that replenishes our pond with millions of gallons of water that is released every day, contains the same chemical components. The plant is not built or equipped to remove the fertilizers that algae and non native plant species thrive on. It should be noted that native plant species do not do well with the
abundance of fertilizers but non native species like cat tails thrive.

Much of the water is lost to percolation into the ground and evaporation into the air, but those processes leave the chemicals in the remaining water. Over the years a steady build up of chemicals has led to the current situation where algae has befouled the water and is poised to turn the pond into a toxic, soupy green mess. This is the same water that is sprinkled liberally around the village through the irrigation sprinkler system. Water that we actually pay for.

The answer to this deplorable situation is obvious to any astute observer. That is; to stop dumping chemical laden water into the pond.

In order to do that, the water reclamation plant would require an upgrade on the order of several millions of dollars to install newer technology.

To simply stop water from replenishing the pond from the water reclamation plant is not an acceptable alternative. Century Village uses that water on a daily basis to irrigate the lawns and gardens
that we all love.

WPRF, recognizing that a problem exists, recently installed aerators that bubble air into the water in an attempt to stem the tide. Though it helps replace oxygen and prevents fish and wildlife kills, it is a band aid solution that has been tried in other waters and shown to be largely ineffective.

Agitating the water, and circulation would help but are not being employed at this time. The fountains help too but there are not enough of them to make much difference.

A case in point is the Burlington Bay in Ontario, Canada . It was found to be, and proven by researchers that Burlington Bay was one of the most polluted bodies of water on the entire continent.

Oxygen depleted waters that actually killed fish who happened to enter were discovered. It was here that DDT was found to be causing the near extinction of many species of birds due to thin shelled eggs that broke open before they were ready to hatch.

A system of pipes and a compressor that forced air into the bay was installed in the hope that the water would recover. I worked closely with The scientists at the Canada Center for Inland Waters
who were studying the problem and The Hamilton Harbor Commissioners who installed and maintained the equipment.

My contribution was to supply the underwater piping system through our family owned business , Mooreco Industrial Supply. Truckload after truckload of pipe, valves and fittings were dispatched from our warehouse and spread in a network on the bottom of the harbour.

Despite spending millions on this project , it wasn't until the municipality of Hamilton, which was largely responsible for the polluted conditions, spent many more millions of dollars on a
massive water treatment system that the bay started to regain it's health. The aeration helped but was not the final solution.

I was dismayed by the response I received when I brought this matter to the attention of the executive of Century Village. The presidents response before quickly halting any discussion on the
subject was that : “ The chemicals in the water are naturally occurring substances” as though that should quell any concerns. Mercury, lead and zinc occur naturally too, Though I have no evidence of those chemicals being present in the pond , though I am sure they are, we are all aware of the dangers posed by those “naturally occurring substances”. He also accused me of fear mongering when I mentioned the health hazards from the pathogens resident in the algae, in truth I was presenting the
unvarnished facts.

The assertion was made by the president that the water being released into the pond is monitored and falls within the guidelines set by the government. That is all well and good, but the fact
remains that the waters in the pond are rapidly approaching the point of no return. Unless effective action is taken very soon I fear that the pond will deteriorate to the point where recovery will take
many years and massive infusions of cash to rectify.

The efforts to clean up the disaster in Burlington Bay started over twenty five years ago.

Though the water has shown some improvement it's not over yet. Predictions are that it will take a hundred years before the waters will finally be cleaned up.

It may be small comfort to know that we are not the only community facing this dilemma. There are other water reclamation plants spotted around Palm Beach County doing the same thing.

Some of the water treated by these facilities is released into wetlands that drain into the everglades. The theory is that the plant life in those wetlands will absorb the excess chemicals before
they reach the everglades. The problem with that theory is that the native plants do not tolerate the abundance of fertilizers and die off leaving the wetlands open to invasive plant species. Many
organisms depend on the native species and will soon disappear if they have no access to them.

There are initiatives underway to deal with water problems in Florida. Initiatives fueled by the outrage of residents over the disastrous consequences of dumping chemical laden waters into the rivers that resulted in one of the largest environmental disasters in the history of the state.

Was the release of polluted waters into the rivers of Florida from Lake Okeechobee conducted under the auspices of the environmental protection agencies and sanctioned by the South Florida Water Management District ? I'm sure it was.

No doubt the water conformed to the guidelines in their mandates. However the resulting damage to the environment clearly demonstrates the shortcomings in their recommendations.

The following statement from The Hamilton Spectator by John Hall who is leading the effort to clean up the Hamilton Harbour defines the problems they are facing.

The biggest challenge in the enormous task of cleaning up Hamilton Harbour is also one that has troubled environmentalists
for decades: excessive phosphorus.

Phosphorus, a nutrient that increases productivity in water, causes algae to grow excessively and disrupts the food chain and the
ecosystem, explained John Hall, coordinator of Hamilton Harbour Remedial Action Plan.

Known as RAP, the plan was developed by more than 40 stakeholder groups in the 1980s to clean up the harbour.

“We've had far too much phosphorus, so the system is way overproductive,” Hall said. “We really want to push the productivity down so it's a more balanced system.”

The harbour has been battling excessive phosphorus level for decades. The reading when RAP first began its work in the 1990s was 80 micrograms per litre, down from a staggering 160 micrograms per litre 15 years ago.

Phosphorus is commonly found in fertilizer, detergent and animal feed. It enters the water system through wastewater, as well as
stormwater that washes down farm fields and city streets, picking up contaminants containing phosphorus along the way.

RAP has introduced two solutions to lower the phosphorus level for a clearer harbour and a more diverse ecosystem: upgrading the
wastewater treatment plants and improving stormwater management.

Wastewater accounts for half of phosphorus flowing into the harbour, according to Hall. With a $480 million investment to upgrade the harbour's two wastewater treatment plants — the Woodward plant and the Skyway plant — the level of phosphorus can be lowered substantially.

RAP is also working with municipalities and conservation authorities to better manage watersheds during storms, the second biggest contributor of phosphorus.

Water quality – indicated by the level of phosphorus — is not only the biggest challenge, it is also the weak link in the remediation
effort, Hall said. Once the water quality is improved, fish and wildlife will also benefit.

“In an ecosystem approach where everything is connected to everything else, you move at the pace where the limitation is and the limitation is water quality,” Hall said.

Florida put 880 million dollars into the budget in an effort to clean up the water in the state.

Less than a year after Governor Scott announced an unprecedented $880 million long-term Everglades restoration plan,
Governor Scott said, “This $130 million investment from the ‘It’s Your Money Tax Cut Budget" will fund critical projects that will improve water quality for families and businesses that rely on these natural treasures. These dollars will go towards improving water quality, mitigating impacts of Lake Okeechobee’s discharges on our estuaries, and diverting more fresh water south to help restore the Everglades.”

A large portion of that money is earmarked to purchase thousands of acres of sugar lands to be used to filter chemicals from waste water before it reaches the everglades. We, in Century Village do
not have thousands of acres to use for this purpose. We pay for and take the water as it comes from the waste water reclamation plant, fertilizers or not.

Is it not reasonable to assume that moneys could be allocated to upgrade water reclamation plants in Palm Beach County? Money that could, with a little initiative , be derived from the State and
the county.

The UCO administration, who should be leading the charge, appear to be more concerned with spending their time and spending our money installing a WIFI network, getting a new sign installed, engaging in blog wars over the election of officers, shuffling money around various accounts, fighting about the botched paving job and rewriting bylaws to their advantage than they are with attacking the monster in the pond.

A situation that I fervently hope will change very soon before the monster bites us all where it hurts the most.

Neil J Moore