Google Stain of Amelia?

 

Sometimes we older folks suddenly learn new technology that takes us into a new realm of awe.  For me one of those realms of awe was learning to use the bell and whistles of Google Earth.  To see 3D buildings and landscapes with sidewalk views was revealing, and yet it was also disturbing. For the next few years I would be able to repeatedly see the weeds by my mailbox or the crooked telephone poles down my street.  However, the most disturbing view I found was a fish skeleton icon in the Amelia River.

 

According to Google Earth the outline of a fish skeleton in a body of water indicates that it is a “Dead Zone”.  The term generally means that there is not enough oxygen in the water to support aquatic life.  For dolphins with blow holes this is not a problem.  But for other aquatic life with gills this is a life threatening condition. 

 

In search of a reason for the “Dead Zone” in the river, I tried to contact Google Earth for answers.  (This is the one time in which Google seems to have no answer to my questions.)  My emails went unanswered. And from the locals I heard various responses to my questions.  Some tell horrific stories of days of old when raw sewage went out through the city’s storm drains. Others refused to talk about it, derisively calling it the “Google Stain”.  On numerous river tours with visiting family and friends, some seemed to explain it as a condition resulting from too much fertilizer on our golf courses. Other theories varied from “no that’s not true”, to some questionable historical reasons. I also heard a few sources state that the river is an ideal place for our two paper and pulp mills due to an amazing ”flushing” process that happens twice a day with the tides. Supposedly the tides cleanse the river of any effluent from our water treatment plants, mills, or other industry.  I worry about this last theory.  If this last theory is true, then why is our river still considered to be dead?  Is it so bad that we have overwhelmed the “flush”?

 

In search of an expert opinion, on November 3rd I attended the Florida Department of the Environment’s (FDEP’s) presentation on the water quality in the estuaries and bodies of water in Nassau County.  It came as no surprise that a large, red area was outlined over the Amelia River.  According to the key on the map and other materials, the water quality of the Amelia River was found to be over the EPA Clean Water Act limits for iron.  As a result, it will likely be nationally listed with the EPA as an “impaired” body of water.  As a result of this listing, the FDEP is tasked with finding the source of the pollution, and it will assign TDML’s (total daily maximum loads) to possible offenders.  It was also explained to participants that this could also just be a natural phenomenon.  

 

With the listing of our river’s estuary as an EPA impaired body of water for iron, the source of the impairment will likely be found.  In the meantime, some may wish to keep the fish eaten from this estuary away from children. (Some adults, and particularly children, have not developed the mechanism to rid the body of excess iron.  Excess iron causes organ damage.)  And those with wells may want to check their iron levels.  According to Mr. Mandrick of the City, our city water seems to be well within the required levels for iron.  Others may also want to avoid eating the fish from the river for other reasons.  According to the FDEP, our waters are also impaired for exceeding the Department of Health’s (DoH) thresholds for mercury which can cause devastating neurological effects on infants and the unborn during pregnancy.  Larger amounts of mercury can also affect the nervous system of adults.

 

Unfortunately our river will likely be listed with the EPA as an “impaired” body of water for quite some time (at least 5 years).  In the future, I hope that we won’t have to rely on a twice daily tide to push our pollution out into the ocean to help clean up our river.  Someday I hope that eating the fish from the Amelia River will no longer remain a questionable activity.  And in the near future I also hope that we, along with our marine life, can look forward to the day when Google Earth finally removes that disturbing fish skeleton icon, the “Google Stain”, from our Amelia River.  I truly wish Godspeed to the Florida Department of the Environment in their pursuit of a successful cleanup.  Our continued good health, our fisheries, and the future health of our children’s drinking water depends on their success.