What is Happening to The St. Johns River?
69
Why is The River Green?
The St. Johns River is the longest river in Florida and it’s most significant for commercial and recreational use. It is 310 miles long, it winds through twelve counties.
When nature behaves, it usually looks like this, deep blue, clear, crabs are crabbing and fish are jumping.
When Things Go Wrong
But when something goes wrong, things can get ugly. Nutrient overload, caused by excess nitrogen and phosphorus, can cause serious water quality problems. When the river contains too many nutrients and the river cannot dilute it, it begins to form algae. This algae then floats on top of the water, which reduces the light needed for oxygen normally needed for vegetation and fish.
There are many causes of this green goo, pesticides, industrial fuels and chemicals, waste water treatment plants, storm sewer runoff, and the lack of rain. The St.Johns Riverkeepers, and Riverhuggers, two local organizations who are documenting and reporting on its progress.
Green Algae
Pictures Courtesy of Jacksonville University
The Health Department says this is the biggest concentration since the nineties, and some of the algae is toxic. Health experts say you don't want to swim or drink the water.
It could leave you sick with a rash or flu-like symptoms. If you do come in contact with the algae, health experts say to rinse yourself thoroughly with water. It is dangerous to pets, and livestock, with numerous reports of animal dying. Florida is waiting for a turn for the better, but for now, hold your nose if you plan to visit.
The following photos were all taken by Dr. Gerry Pinto, a research scientist with JU's Marine Science Research Institute. Thanks Gerry for these unbelievable aerial photos.
Areal Photos
The Pilot
Just a mention that the pilot for these photos was my son, Steve.
CommentsLoading...
Partisan, maybe I've eaten there? Thanks for stopping by.
Great pictures and well written. I live in Florida and I learned something here in your blog.
BJC
Great photos, and well-written, jiberish. I love fishing and boating, and I hate seeing our waterways being destroyed. Keep up the good work!
BJC, Thanks, I'll try to keep up with this story.
Dean, Thank you, back at you.
Due to large scale industrialization and use of pesticides contaminate the river water around the world.
we need to take steps to prevent contamination of water for the sake of future generation.
Thank you Jacob for stopping by. There are some mandates soon to go into law about industrial dumping. We have a power plant about 10 miles north causing a lot of this.
Fortunately in the UK they really cleaned up their act on rivers and now most are clean and healthy looking, wasn't always the case however. Definitely need to look after these natural resources.
Hi jiberish-good article. I am from Florida too, but haven't been home in a while. I miss it so much! It hurts my heart to see things like this and the condition of our natural resources are in serious jeapoardy. Knowledge is power! Keep spreading the word!
Brian, the River usually cleans itself pretty well, however this year we have had less rain than normal, and the algae has more time to grwo. Thank you for visiting.
RS, Thanks again. Every year we get a little goo, hope it clears up by the time you get back.
Go Steve, great shots. Jiberish, those are fantastic photos all around. I tell you I am getting a good education on hubpages and you're contributing towards it. Thanks!
Thank you for stopping in.
good stuff
I'm just a few blocks from the river tonight. :)
It's a beautiful place, and I'm surprised to see so little traffic on it. The marina here in Sanford, Florida, is full of boats, just sitting idle. Seems as though summertime weekends would be the time to be out on the water.
The river is beautiful, and calming, I see it from my patio, and enjoy watching the traffic. The green goo is starting to clear up finally. Thank you for your comments.
Great hub and pics! We live near the Miami river here in Ohio. It is filled every year with pesticide and herbicide run offs. We don't eat fish from it.
Tom, thank you for visiting, as beautiful as it is, I wouldn't eat anything from it either.
Wonderfully written...and I am so glad the algae is clearing for you...Unfortunately, all the waters of the earth are being polluted by one thing or another...at the coast we had red tide...which is another form of algae and it was soooo smilley....It has gotten worse in passing years....As for the fish...and the waters...It is Written these things will come about...Man has not respected the beauty of nature which we were given, nor respected what a trash can is either!!
I am so happy for your sake that it is clearing and I hope it looks the way it did in the first pics soon...It is a beautiful river, tho I have never seen it in real life...You are fortunate to live in such a wonderous place!! I have enjoyed seeing it..Have an Awesome Day!
Wealth, thank you for stopping. In Japan the algea was so bad this year, thier pearl crop almost died. Yes, it's finally clearing up for the holidays.
Very interesting and amazing aerial photographs. Thank you for documenting it. Nutrition overload from extensive agriculture is a serious problem in many regions. Not only for rivers but also for the quality of the ground water.
Euro-pen, yes it's a big problem, and this year it has been worse than in previous years. Rain sometimes helps, but we have not had much of that this year. Thank you for visiting.
Excellent hub and the worrying thing to my mind is that all this mess eventually ends up in the already poisoned and polluted ocean!
Good photos but bad situation. I hope that Florida officials will move to reduce fertilizer runoff. Unfortunately so much of Florida politics reads like a Carl Hiassen novel.
Bard, the river has been sick for a while. To date the Riverkeepers are not sure why there is a mass amount of fish still dying all along the river. Yes they agree that there is algae, but this does not account for all of the dead fish. They currently urge people to stay out of the river and not to fish until they find the actual cause. Thanks for stopping in.
Partisan Patriot Level 4 Commenter 2 years ago
Great article and photos. I've actually fished the St. John's river before. Unbelievable wild life in and around the river. My company has a fish camp near Palatka.