EAA reservoir: Brian Mast urges Senate to approve WRDA, saying Stuart is 'literally dying'

The Treasure Coast's congressman urged U.S. Senate leaders to pass a stalled bill that would authorize the design and construction of an EAA reservoir to curb Lake Okeechobee discharges that cause toxic algae blooms on both South Florida coasts.

U.S. Rep. Brian Mast, R-Palm City, sent a letter Thursday to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, asking him to schedule a vote on the Water Resources Development Act that funds some and authorizes some water infrastructure projects.

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"People are getting sick, animals are dying, our environment is being demolished and our economy is withering," Mast said in the letter. 

More: Tests confirm toxic algae killed dog, sickened others

The Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) reservoir is included in the WRDA bill the U.S. House passed last week, after the Senate failed to pass the version the House passed in July after being stalled in the chamber for months.

"The bill has broad bipartisan support and our community on the Treasure Coast is literally dying while this bill languishes in the Senate," Mast said in the letter. "Your immediate attention to this life or death issue is appreciated."

More:TCPalm's complete coverage of the algae crisis

Florida's senators this week also have urged McConnell to schedule a vote on the bill. Sen. Bill Nelson did so in a floor speech Tuesday and Sen. Marco Rubio did so in a video his office released Wednesday. 

Florida clean-water advocacy groups also have been urging the Senate to vote on WRDA. Captains for Clean Water, a Fort Myers-based group, is urging people to write their senators, and claims over 25,000 from across the country have done so. 

Mast is running for re-election against Democrat Lauren Baer. 

Lake O discharges cause algae blooms

Lake Okeechobee discharges are the primary cause of sometimes toxic blue-green algae blooms in the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers. 

Blooms also pollute the Indian River Lagoon and have closed Atlantic beaches.

More:Bathtub Beach algae was toxic; people in water unaware

The South Florida Water Management District claims the EAA project's 10,100-acre reservoir and 6,500-acre man-made marsh, when combined with other water infrastructure projects, will reduce discharges to both rivers by 63 percent and send more than 120 billion gallons of clean water south to the Everglades each year.