HEALTH

Brian Lapointe touts septic to sewer conversions, calls EAA reservoir 'a distraction'

Tyler Treadway
Treasure Coast Newspapers
Brian Lapointe, a research professor at Florida Atlantic University's Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, speaks at the Everglades Coalition's annual conference in January 2014, in Naples.

The EAA reservoir is "a distraction" from work needed to clean Florida's water, a Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute scientist told a state Senate panel Wednesday.

Brian Lapointe, a research professor at the Fort Pierce branch of Florida Atlantic University, called the concept of curtailing toxic blue-green algae blooms in the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers by sending excess Lake Okeechobee water south a bad decision that "has cost our state dearly."

More:What are Lake Okeechobee discharges?

More: Reservoir distracts from septic conversions, chamber head says

Money, time and effort would be better spent converting homes and businesses on septic tanks to central sewer systems and upgrading sewage treatment plants to remove algae-feeding nutrients from wastewater, Lapointe told the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, the Environment and General Government.

More: Lake O discharges, not septic systems, cause algae blooms

Florida needs "a Manhattan Project based on sound science, not politics," Lapointe said, to combat nutrient pollution in Florida's waterways.

The $1.6 billion reservoir approved by legislators and then-Gov. Rick Scott in 2017 has been "a distraction from the real problems we're facing," Lapointe said: wastewater from sewage plant leaks and septic tanks.

Because of the emphasis on the reservoir, he added, "we've lost a couple of years when we could have been tackling the right problem."

Audubon director 'gobsmacked'

Julie Wraithmell, executive director of Florida Audubon, said she was "gobsmacked" by Lapointe's presentation.

Wraithmell had signed up to speak during the hearing, but Lapointe's presentation ran long and Chairwoman Debbie Mayfield, a Rockledge Republican, ended the meeting without taking public comment.

"Maybe it's Opposite Day," Wraithmell said after the meeting, "but I can't figure out how he came to those conclusions. As a scientist, I was left scratching my head."

Lapointe said the reservoir would cut discharges by 15 percent, not a very good "bang for your buck."

The reservoir, when used in conjunction with other existing and planned projects, will reduce Lake O discharges to the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers by 63 percent, according to South Florida Water Management District engineers designing the project.

More: Preliminary work begins on EAA reservoir to cut Lake O discharges

North of the lake

The reservoir won't "protect Lake Okeechobee," Lapointe said, because it will be south of the lake, and most of the nitrogen and phosphorus flows in from the north.

"Cleaning and storing water north of the lake seems like common sense to me," Lapointe said.

The SFWMD also is planning the Lake Okeechobee Watershed Restoration Project to catch and store water before it reaches the lake because less water in the lake means less need to send excess water to the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee.

More: North reservoir could help cut Lake Okeechobee discharges

When asked about environmentalists who blame agriculture for the state's water woes, Lapointe chuckled. Then he noted that while farming acreage — especially in Florida's iconic citrus industry — has decreased over recent years, the population and the number of algae blooms have increased.

In many areas, he added, most of the new homes are on septic systems.

The primary cause of water pollution, Lapointe said, "isn't fertilizer; it's sewage."

Lapointe called the practice of spreading partially treated sewage sludge, known as Class B biosolids, on farmland "something else that's been used to blame farmers (for pollution). I haven't seen a lot of science showing that it contributes to the algae blooms I'm talking about today."

Human waste (aka biosolids)

Spreading tons of sewage sludge on nearby ranchland is suspected, but hasn't been proven, to be the cause of highly toxic blue-green algae blooms in Blue Cypress Lake in western Indian River County.

Investigation:Are biosolids to blame for Blue Cypress Lake pollution?

The suspicion is strong enough that the Florida Department of Environmental Protection requested, and the landowner agreed, that the dumping be suspended. Since then, the Indian River County Commission has enacted, and this week expanded, a moratorium on biosolid use.

More: Indian River County extends biosolid moratorium, will seek ban from state

Wraithmell accused Lapointe of "cherry picking" data.

"It's a shame Dr. Lapointe didn't present all the science to the committee," Wraithmell said, "not just the elements that contribute to his particular message. He oversimplified the problem in a reckless way and maybe given people a false sense of security that one tool can fix the problem. But it's a massive, complex problem that will take a lot of tools to fix."