Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/136775
Sarasota News Leader June 14, 2013 Page 19 MacFarlane says the county tests water quality at a runoff spot only when a complaint is lodged. "That's kind of the routine — we don't monitor every discharge point we have," he points out. "If we think we have a problem, we're going to start monitoring there." ing at a comprehensive plan to reduce stormwater runoff," rather than simply improving ditches. That means investing in "low-impact green technology to capture stormwater when it hits the ground": bioswales, catchments, pervious surfaces and more vegetation. While MacFarlane argues the ditch project will result in cleaner water flowing into the bay, the county has no obligation to actually ensure that, according to Alexander. "The marina basin that is the receiving waters for the ditch has been identified by [the Florida Department of Environmental Protection] as impaired due to levels of mercury in fish tissue," the judge wrote in his recommended order. In other words, the inlet is so polluted already that the county's only obligation is to not make it worse. "That would reduce the need to have a hightech solution to re-engineer this ditch," he says. "If there were less stormwater coming into it, it wouldn't be a problem." ALTERNATIVES As frustrated as they are, Achim and Erika are confident they will win the ownership contest. "We fought this lawsuit on a shoestring," says Achim. "We only deposed people that wouldn't cost anything because they're public servants. We didn't have an attorney." Stormwater runoff is the "number one" issue affecting the health of local waterways, Bloom points out. THE OWNERSHIP MATTER Even though Achim and Erika lost their bid to halt the ditch project, its completion still hinges on resolving the question of who owns the "They really just want to bulldoze everybody," western portion of the ditch. That is the very says Achim. "They're not authentically looking point where the canal connects to the inlet. to clean anything up." He argues that since the water level in the ditch is connected to "One of the conditions of the permit is to the tide in the bay, the dredging won't even make sure we own or control the land that improve flooding on U.S. 41. It makes him furi- covers the area of the ditch, and right now ous: "I can't stand it anymore. All the s--- flows the Ginsberg-Klemmts claim that they own into the bay, and the trash goes in there, and it," says MacFarlane. He doesn't expect any nobody f------ cares. That's where we are to- resolution for another six months or maybe even a year. day." Justin Bloom, the executive director of the Suncoast Waterkeeper, a "nonprofit grassroots environmental advocacy organization" formed last year, says he's not familiar enough with the ditch to comment on it, but he argues there is a need "to look at this in the bigger He promises a tougher fight when it comes to who owns the ditch, and he says the coupicture of addressing stormwater issues." ple has enough "historical documentation" to The city and the county "should be looking at triumph: "We're going to win. We're going to soup to nuts," he adds. "They should be look- prove that we own it." %