Fish Kill, How bad is it? (Tampa, Merritt Island: real estate, homes, buying)

[garyreno]

Should we delay our vacation next week?
Is the smell really that bad?

[CyberConch]

You might want to wait:

Volunteers scoop up Indian River Lagoon's rotting fish

[beckerd2]

Where are you going in Brevard? Its not like the whole county is going to smell like dead fish.
Here in Merritt Island it doesn't smell at all and I'm on a canal. I've seen a couple of floaties, but its normal stuff.
If you're planning on boating on the river or hanging out on the side of the rivers, then I guess you could change your plans or maybe decide to help clean up the fish.
Hanging out on the beach or going to Kennedy Space Center is not going to be ruined by fish dying in the rivers. Brevard is a big county, you can easily do things that are far away from the rivers.

[1insider]

Smell isn't bad at all in Cocoa Beach. Ocean is good. Unless you're on the river I doubt you'd know it's happened.

[Nypafl4u]

Just an awful situation. I wonder how far up the food chain this will go. I am sure some unsuspecting people fished on some of these sickened fish before the kill and likely ate them. Now it's a massive mess. And you know it is our tax dollars that will go to clean this up...

[CyberConch]

Courtesy of our governor, big sugar, and the general incompetence (did someone say corruption?) of previous administrations:

Eve Samples: (Gov.) Scotty, you’re doing a heck of a job for the Indian River Lagoon

[1insider]

Governor Scott is doing a terrible job but, for the record, the Lake Okeechobee/Big Sugar discharges do not affect the rivers in Brevard County. Our issues are closer to home, nutrient-rich runoff that promotes the algae blooms. Fertilizer on the thousands of lawns and dozens of golf courses, leaking septic tanks and old sewer lines all contribute to the problem. There are too many of us and we waited too long to do something. The rivers can recover if we change our ways. Tampa Bay is a good example of what can happen when government finally gets serious about healing a damaged estuary.

Not sure why anyone would think that our taxes shouldn't pay for the remedy. If you've ever flushed a toilet in Brevard County or walked on fertilized grass you're part of the problem.

[chopchop0]

Originally Posted by 1insider

Governor Scott is doing a terrible job but, for the record, the Lake Okeechobee/Big Sugar discharges do not affect the rivers in Brevard County. Our issues are closer to home, nutrient-rich runoff that promotes the algae blooms. Fertilizer on the thousands of lawns and dozens of golf courses, leaking septic tanks and old sewer lines all contribute to the problem. There are too many of us and we waited too long to do something. The rivers can recover if we change our ways. Tampa Bay is a good example of what can happen when government finally gets serious about healing a damaged estuary.

Not sure why anyone would think that our taxes shouldn't pay for the remedy. If you've ever flushed a toilet in Brevard County or walked on fertilized grass you're part of the problem.

The biggest problem is tropical trail/merritt island. The beachside has gone to sewer, why havent they?

[Nypafl4u]

Originally Posted by 1insider

Governor Scott is doing a terrible job but, for the record, the Lake Okeechobee/Big Sugar discharges do not affect the rivers in Brevard County. Our issues are closer to home, nutrient-rich runoff that promotes the algae blooms. Fertilizer on the thousands of lawns and dozens of golf courses, leaking septic tanks and old sewer lines all contribute to the problem. There are too many of us and we waited too long to do something. The rivers can recover if we change our ways. Tampa Bay is a good example of what can happen when government finally gets serious about healing a damaged estuary.

Not sure why anyone would think that our taxes shouldn't pay for the remedy. If you've ever flushed a toilet in Brevard County or walked on fertilized grass you're part of the problem.

I would have to disagree with regards to the lake Okeechobee/ Big Sugar discharges. We may have some older systems and yes, fertilizers from homes don't help. But the real issue occurred very dramatically soon after the run off was accelerated by the massive dumb of overflow water. Most people in Merritt Island and many parts of Brevard have sewage systems that are supposed to go to treatment plants before that "flushed" water ever reaches our waterways. And even if on a septic tank, if it leaked in your yard, you would surely know it by the awful smell, sunken yard and possible backed up toilets. I don't think any of that, in the course of several weeks, caused this huge swell of brown water that killed off much of anything alive in these waterways. Was there a problem before the dump, yes to a degree. But it got completely out of control after the massive, millions of gallons of fertilized and who knows what other chemicals, was released.

Yes, I also believe we already pay dearly for those treatment plants in your water bills and taxes depending on where you live. Even storm water removal is charged or taxed if you will. Allowing this dumped run off into a sensitive ecosystem was just foolish and environmentally costly in too many ways to count. And yes, this will cost millions of dollars to clean up properly. Money that should not have had be to spent for this reason. Money that could have been used for other beautification projects or maybe even updated water treatment plants or buying of the land around the targeted areas to help prevent the run off. Money that ultimately you and I are paying through our taxes. Just wait until next year when everyone's real estate taxes jump several hundred dollars. You will know what a good portion was for.

[expatCA]

Originally Posted by Nypafl4u

I would have to disagree with regards to the lake Okeechobee/ Big Sugar discharges. We may have some older systems and yes, fertilizers from homes don't help. But the real issue occurred very dramatically soon after the run off was accelerated by the massive dumb of overflow water. Most people in Merritt Island and many parts of Brevard have sewage systems that are supposed to go to treatment plants before that "flushed" water ever reaches our waterways. And even if on a septic tank, if it leaked in your yard, you would surely know it by the awful smell, sunken yard and possible backed up toilets. I don't think any of that, in the course of several weeks, caused this huge swell of brown water that killed off much of anything alive in these waterways. Was there a problem before the dump, yes to a degree. But it got completely out of control after the massive, millions of gallons of fertilized and who knows what other chemicals, was released.

Yes, I also believe we already pay dearly for those treatment plants in your water bills and taxes depending on where you live. Even storm water removal is charged or taxed if you will. Allowing this dumped run off into a sensitive ecosystem was just foolish and environmentally costly in too many ways to count. And yes, this will cost millions of dollars to clean up properly. Money that should not have had be to spent for this reason. Money that could have been used for other beautification projects or maybe even updated water treatment plants or buying of the land around the targeted areas to help prevent the run off. Money that ultimately you and I are paying through our taxes. Just wait until next year when everyone's real estate taxes jump several hundred dollars. You will know what a good portion was for.

Did someone authorize the dump of water or was it due to other problems?