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Join water warriors for an inspiring brunch

Join water warriors for an inspiring brunch

Written by Rusty Chinnis on . Posted in Environment, Outdoors, Water Quality.

Suncoast Waterkeeper’s (SCWK) annual fundraising event, Brunch for The Bay, is coming to the Sarasota Yacht Club on Sunday, Nov. 9 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Don’t miss this opportunity to support SCWK’s clean water mission and meet and hear from one of the world’s environmental “rock stars.”

This year’s keynote speaker, Rob Bilott, is known worldwide as the attorney who took on chemical giant DuPont and uncovered the dangers of PFAS contamination. His “David and Goliath” story was depicted in the 2019 feature film, “Dark Waters.” Bilott has dedicated his career to protecting communities from the toxic threat of “forever chemicals.” At Brunch for the Bay 2025, he will present “Uncovering the Global Threat of PFAS ‘Forever Chemicals’ Contamination.”

One of the notable sponsors of this year’s event is the Holmes Beach Clean Water Ad Hoc Committee. The group serves as an advisory commit­tee to the City Commission. It was conceived by Mayor Judy Titsworth, whose family (the Holmes in Holmes Beach) has been on Anna Maria Island for generations. Titsworth’s idea comes from a lifetime of seeing the changes firsthand that so few of us late arrivals appreciate.

In her own words, she explains the concept behind the committee and the life experiences that led to its formation: “The Clean Water Com­mittee’s vision is to ensure waters will meet the designated human uses for drinking, shellfish harvesting or swimming and fishing, while sus­taining healthy natural ecosystems that support natural processes and resilient native plant and animal communities. Growing up on the Island in a house on the bay gave me a most remarkable childhood. My sister and I spent most of our days outside playing in the bay and along the natural shorelines. The bay isn’t what it was back then and much of the marine life has drastically diminished due to the impacts from development, pollution from storm­water runoff, Piney Point and sewage spills. The clean water committee is a recommending ad hoc board that I developed to assist in identifying so­lutions to improve our water quality by reducing our impacts. We greatly support the efforts made by Suncoast Waterkeeper in educating the public about the adverse conditions of our waters, holding polluters account­able and their commitment to water quality testing and documenting the effects that the pollutants have on seagrasses and marine life.”

There’s never been a better time to help support the clean water mission of the committee and Suncoast Waterkeeper. Meet like-minded advo­cates, enjoy a great meal overlooking Sarasota Bay at the area’s premier Yacht Club and be inspired to join and advance this critical mission. Get your tickets before they sell out.

I look forward to seeing you there.

Suncoast Waterkeeper’s Brunch for the Bay

Written by Rusty Chinnis on . Posted in Outdoors, Reel Time.

Brunch for The Bay will feature speakers that will address current threats to our island environment.

Suncoast Waterkeeper is holding its annual brunch for the bay fundraiser at a different venue this year. Get ready for an inspiring and impactful event featuring a powerhouse lineup of expert speakers at the Sarasota Yacht Club! Here’s what you can look forward to on Sunday, Nov. 3 at 11 a.m.

Justin Bloom, Esq. – Founder of Suncoast Waterkeeper and leader of the Sick of Sewage campaign, Justin will reveal how grassroots action has begun to turn the tide on pollution (including their suit against the City of Bradenton) and share critical lessons learned from the 2024 hurricane season.

Dr. Gary Mitchum – Associate Dean of USF’s College of Marine Science, Dr. Mitchum will shine a spotlight on extreme weather events and sea level rise, offering insights on what the Suncoast can expect now and in the future.

Dr. Colin Polsky – Founding Director at FAU’s School of Environmental, Coastal and Ocean Sustainability, will explain how the Florida Wildlife Corridor is a vital model for intentionally designing regional spaces for climate resilience.

Alexis Meschelle – Executive Director of Organized Fishermen of Florida, Alexis will talk about her work to ensure commercial fishermen and women are represented at all levels of government. She will discuss the impact of extreme weather events on Florida fishermen, their livelihood and the fisheries we depend on.

Don’t miss this opportunity to engage with leading voices on climate action, water protection, and environmental resilience. This fundraising brunch will also include delectable food, drinks, and the chance to connect with fellow advocates committed to protecting and preserving the waters of our beloved Suncoast!

Suncoast Waterkeeper’s mission is to ensure the Suncoast has swimmable, drinkable and fishable water for all. Their mission, which has never been more important, is to defend our coastline through advocacy, monitoring, community engagement and legal action.

This is an excellent opportunity to learn about Suncoast Waterkeeper’s work, get involved and help ensure that current and future generations can enjoy a healthy environment. Let’s join forces and fight for our beautiful coastline! If we don’t do it, who will?

Learn about the event and purchase tickets at www.suncoastwaterkeeper.org/brunchforthebay2024.

Reel Time: Brunch for the Bay 2022

Reel Time: Brunch for the Bay 2022

Written by Rusty Chinnis on . Posted in Environment, Fishing, Outdoors, Reel Time.

Brunch for a cause with Suncoast Waterkeeper at the group’s annual Brunch for the Bay fundraiser.

This year’s brunch will be held at the Bradenton Yacht Club on Saturday, Oct. 15 from noon to 3 p.m. Monies raised from the event will go to help fund Suncoast Waterkeeper’s (SCWK) mission to protect and restore the Florida Suncoast’s waterways through enforcement, fieldwork, advocacy and environmental education.

The group uses the funds raised to advance water quality enforcement actions and campaigns like their Eyes on the Suncoast and Sick of Sewage campaigns. SCWK has been effective in educating the public about man-made pollutants (stormwater and sewage) and enforcement with legal challenges to municipalities on Sarasota Bay and surrounding waters. Their investigation of Sarasota County’s sewage system revealed a shocking pattern of longstanding, systematic infrastructure failures and disregard for public health and water quality.

To consolidate its sewage system, the county had decommissioned two tertiary, or advanced wastewater treatment (AWT) plants, to better centralize their operations. However, the remaining plants that Sarasota County leaders increasingly relied upon employed only secondary treatment, leaving billions of gallons of highly nitrogenated wastewater as a byproduct.

At the same time, demand for the reclaimed irrigation water from the county was disappearing as developers, in managing nitrogen in their stormwater runoff, turned to less polluted options, such as well water or highly treated reclaimed water from the city of Sarasota.

Most recently, SCWK filed a successful challenge requiring the city of Bradenton to fix its wastewater system to prevent the continued release of millions of gallons of partially treated wastewater to the Manatee River.

Reports from the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program point to the section of Sarasota Bay covered by the Sarasota action as one bright spot in an otherwise troubled bay.

You can help support the group’s efforts and learn about their ongoing campaigns in the Suncoast region by attending the fundraising event. This year SCWK is celebrating 50 years of the Clean Water Act by looking back at the group’s successes under the law and looking ahead at some immediate challenges.

The Clean Water Act allows Suncoast Waterkeeper’s members to bring citizens suits against polluters which benefits all of the citizens and businesses that depend on a healthy bay.

At the event, participants will meet the group’s new Executive Director, Abbey Tyrna. Justin Bloom, founder of Suncoast Waterkeeper, will discuss the importance of these cases in restoring the bay and SCWK’s plans to continue to advocate for the enforcement of pollution laws.

Also speaking at the event is Ph.D. candidate Nick Castillo, representing the Bonefish and Tarpon Trust. His talk is entitled, “Does the Clean Water Act protect you from prescription drugs?” Castillo will educate participants on how prescription drugs make their way into Florida waters and eventually into the fish many of us eat.

There has been a lot of news about plastics in our water recently, but we’re just starting to see coverage about the threat of the so-called “forever chemicals,” like PFAS and PFOS. University of Florida Assistant Professor Dr. John Bowden will be in attendance to discuss his research on the subject. Bowden was recently hired by the Holmes Beach Clean Water Ad-hoc Committee and tested tap water on Anna Maria Island that is served by the Manatee County water utility. Meetings are open to the public and everyone is encouraged to attend and hear what was discovered in your drinking water and what it might mean for your health.

Anglers can learn how the group’s efforts are supporting an environment conducive to healthy fisheries, now and for future generations.

Please purchase your tickets today for the annual Brunch for the Bay by visiting the SCWK website.

The Bradenton Yacht Club is located at 4307 13th St. W. on Snead Island.

Reel Time: Pulitzer Prize winning author to speak

Reel Time: Pulitzer Prize winning author to speak

Written by Rusty Chinnis on . Posted in Outdoors, Reel Time.

On March 8, Suncoast Waterkeepers (SWK), a local environmental group whose mission is to protect and restore the Florida Suncoast’s waterways through enforcement, fieldwork, advocacy and environmental education, will hold its annual fundraiser Brunch for the Bay at the Bradenton Yacht Club.

The group uses the funds to advance its water quality enforcement and “Sick of Sewage” campaigns. SWK has been effective in educating the public about man-made pollutants (stormwater and sewage) and enforcement with legal challenges to municipalities in Tampa Bay and surrounding waters.

After a series of horrific sewage spills in 2016 despoiled Tampa Bay and other local waters, SWK and partners brought suit against the cities of St. Petersburg and Gulfport to stop serious and ongoing violations of the federal Clean Water Act. It focused its efforts on achieving four key goals for municipal wastewater systems: to de-politicize the issues by agreeing to court oversight of overdue infrastructure maintenance and improvements; to provide certainty via mandatory long-term commitments and deadlines; protect local waterways and to ensure public transparency along the way.

During the course of the hard-fought two-year litigation against St. Pete and Gulfport, Suncoast Waterkeeper began investigating sewage spills in Sarasota County. The investigation of Sarasota County’s sewage system revealed a shocking pattern of longstanding, systematic infrastructure failures and disregard for public health and water quality in area waters. In a race to consolidate its far-flung sewage system, the county decommissioned two tertiary, or Advanced Wastewater Treatment (AWT), plants to better centralize its operations. However, the remaining plants that it increasingly relied upon employed only secondary treatment, leaving billions of gallons of highly nitrogenated wastewater as a byproduct.

At the same time, demand for the reclaimed irrigation water from the county was disappearing as developers, in managing nitrogen in stormwater runoff, turned to less polluting options, such as well water or highly treated reclaimed water from the city of Sarasota. To date, spills from the Bee Ridge facility have totaled over a billion gallons since 2013 on at least 394 separate days, adding over 65 tons of nitrogen into bay waters.

Meanwhile, the extensive sewage collection system was deteriorating and poorly maintained in a piecemeal fashion, resulting in periodic spills of dangerous raw sewage throughout Sarasota County. In early 2019, the environmental groups initiated a federal lawsuit under the Clean Water Act.

According to SWK’s lead attorney Justin Bloom, “to their credit, the Sarasota County Commission showed a willingness to immediately work towards a solution and to avoid protracted litigation.”

You can help support the group’s efforts and learn about its ongoing campaigns in Sarasota and Tampa Bay by attending the fundraising event. Not only will you be treated to a wonderful brunch at the scenic Bradenton Yacht Club, but you’ll hear a presentation by University of Florida history professor Jack Davis.

Davis’s book, “The Gulf,” garnered numerous literary accolades including the Pulitzer Prize for history, the Kirkus Prize for non-fiction, was a finalist National Book Critics Circle Award (nonfiction) and was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, just to name a few. I’ve lived here for close to 40 years and the book caused me to see the place I live with new eyes. I highly recommend it and this is a chance to get your own signed copy.

Suncoast Waterkeeper is a group that has earned the support of anyone that values and is willing to work to protect the amazing marine ecosystem surrounding our local islands, and that is vital to the region’s local economy. Anglers, in particular, can learn how the group’s efforts are supporting an environment conducive to healthy fisheries, now and for future generations. Learn more at the Suncoast Waterkeeper website. Tickets can be purchased for the brunch online.

I hope to see you there.

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