Editorial: Cleaning up the Gulf

That's how this newspaper introduced a 15-part, 118-page special report exactly two months ago entitled "Deep Trouble: The Gulf in Peril."

The series, which received attention on both the state and national level, wasn't all about doom and gloom. There also was hope, best expressed on the 15th day when the special report concluded with 18 specific problems and possible solutions.

That hope was bolstered this past Thanksgiving week when local officials -- some elected and some appointed -- indicated they intend to tackle at least two of the 18 problems.

First on the list is stormwater runoff, a leading cause of pollution in the Gulf.

While sewage is treated before it is discharged into Gulf bays and tributaries, stormwater isn't. That means when rainfall cleanses streets, parking lots, farm fields and lawns of oil, pesticides and fertilizer, the Gulf is fouled.

Pam Mac'Kie, a former Collier County commissioner and now an official with the South Florida Water District, told Naples city officials last week that the district is ready to spend $1 million on Naples Bay.

She billed it as the first step in reviving a body of water that has been on the decline for decades.

The once pristine bay started dying when miles and miles of canals were dug to drain Golden Gate for development in the 1960s. At one time the bay drained 10 square miles of land, mostly undeveloped. Now, it catches the runoff -- and the pollution -- from 120 square miles of farm fields, parking lots and housing developments.

Mac'Kie reported that half the money will be used to map Naples Bay's bottom and figure out how water moves through the bay to the Gulf. The rest will be devoted to restoration. Sea grass beds will be replanted and oyster reefs will be reseeded, but more importantly something will be done about stormwater runoff.

Some of the most polluted water dumped into the bay comes from the Gateway Triangle -- a heavily developed commercial area bounded by Davis Boulevard, Airport-Pulling Road and U.S. 41 East. The water district plans to contain some of the Triangle's runoff and remove pollutants before sending the water on to the bay.

Admittedly, a half million dollars for restoration isn't much, but water district officials plan to ask the State Legislature for $5 million more this spring.

The other bit of good news last week came from our legislators.

On the eve of their annual planning meeting, members of the local delegation said they were united in their intent to find research money for red tide, another of the 18 problems identified in the special report. Deadly red tides have been increasing in frequency and intensity in recent years, damaging both the tourism and fishing industries.

State Rep. Mike Davis, R-Naples, who chairs the Southwest Florida delegation, said the newspaper's 15-part special report put the issue on the radar screens of local lawmakers.

The series pointed out that funding for red tide research had been cut or slowed at the state and federal level, and the key to preventing red tide is understanding what causes it.

The promise by our local lawmakers to pursue more research money is encouraging.

True, these are but two small steps in saving the Gulf of Mexico, but that's how this mission will be accomplished -- a step at a time.