If you read last week’s edition, you will remember that we wrote a story with information garnered primarily from someone who was claiming that the Florida Public Service Commission had denied a need for Little Gasparilla residents (and other barrier island residents) to find a different way to get rid of their sewage and wastewater. You read that Charlotte County Commissioners who had been 100 percent for the plan to find a solution were puzzled when the barrier islands were denied this option by the PSC. You also read that there were numerous septic systems at island homes that were a hazard, as they were entirely submerged during certain high tides … and some that were completely submerged at almost every high tide.

“We saw some fluctuations in the data while we were in the field, but we cannot say with any certainty what those might be until we process the data,” Kangas said. “I don’t know any place we would scan and not see fluctuations, so this doesn’t necessarily mean there is anything unusual underground. Even if we do see anomalies that might indicate something is underground, we can never say with 100 percent certainty what it is with just the GPR data, it would need to be ground truthed.”

Adult manatees are typically 9- to 10-feet long from snout to tail and weigh around 1,000 pounds. Manatees have two forelimb flippers that they use for steering movements and to hold vegetation while eating. A large, round, flattened paddle-shaped tail is used for swimming. They are quite agile, and able to swim upside down, roll or move vertically in the water. They frequent back bay estuaries and shallow coastal zones and spend up to eight hours a day grazing on seagrasses. This includes the back bay waters of Cayo Costa and Gasparilla Islands as well as our beaches, where in the summertime, mating herds have been observed.

Here we call it “One Charlotte, One Water.” The County Commission approved the hiring of a water quality manager to develop a water quality monitoring plan and to coordinate cross-departmental efforts and public outreach. Earlier this year, the County convened a water quality summit to identify water quality drivers in Charlotte Harbor; share recent advances in harmful algal bloom detection, prediction and communication; highlight County activities and partnerships to monitor, improve and protect water quality and natural habitats; and provide opportunities for citizen education and action.