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| Agency Spraying Waterway by Mike Knepper |
BREVARD COUNTY, FL - In Florida, manatees are dying in numbers not seen before. Their emaciated bodies surface in waterways once abundant with seagrass, while county leaders debate how much more chemical spray should be released into these same ecosystems.
In Brevard County, commissioners are preparing to approve a contract with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC) to fund herbicide spraying on local waterways. The vote comes less than a month after the county’s Save Our Indian River Lagoon program released glossy fertilizer-awareness videos, funded by residents who taxed themselves in 2016 to protect the very lagoon now under siege.
The stated purpose of spraying is to keep invasive plants like hydrilla from clogging canals and culverts. FWC contracts sprayers as “marine inspectors,” arming them with glyphosate, 2,4-D, and diquat, chemicals mixed and loaded into helicopters, trucks, airboats, and even backpacks. These same waters, from the St. Johns River to Lake Washington, Lake Poinsett, and Fox Lake, are treated with poisons designed to clear plants in the short term but with ripple effects that last far longer.
A Growing Budget, a Growing Concern
Since the lagoon tax passed in 2016, FWC’s herbicide budget, tucked inside the mosquito control program, has swelled by more than 36%. That figure doesn’t include herbicide spending by the Florida Department of Transportation, Brevard’s sixteen cities, or landscaping contracts. Some municipalities have banned glyphosate, but state agencies continue to pour it directly into waterways.
Officials defending the practice argue it prevents flooding, but critics see misplaced priorities. In the past year alone, $450,000 was spent on a new chemical storage facility. “Marine inspectors” earn $25 an hour to spray waterways, while county public works employees start at $15 to clear ditches manually. Residents question why money isn’t being directed toward mechanical harvesting, ditch cleaning, or incentivizing solutions that reduce the need for chemicals altogether.
This isn’t just a policy debate, it’s an economic one. Tourism and waterfront property values depend on clean water. Algal blooms fueled by decaying vegetation have cost Florida’s economy billions in lost fishing revenue and declining coastal tourism. The choice to spend more on chemicals may save money in the short term, but it risks far higher costs in the decades ahead.
What the Chemicals Leave Behind
Glyphosate and similar herbicides (HDPE Containers) don’t simply vanish. When sprayed, they leach into the water, break down, and release phosphorus. Plants die, decay, and feed algae blooms that choke off sunlight to the seafloor. Seagrass, which depends on clear water and light, withers. Over the past decade, the Indian River Lagoon has lost more than 46,000 acres of seagrass.
These underwater meadows once formed the heartbeat of the lagoon, sheltering more than 1,000 species of fish, sea turtles, seahorses, and manatees. Their collapse explains much of the crisis Florida faces today: in 2021 alone, more than 1,000 manatees died statewide, the highest number ever recorded. Many starved, unable to find the seagrass they depend on for food.
And it’s not just manatees. Dolphins, turtles, and wading birds all depend on this foundation species. When the grasses die, the entire food chain buckles.
| Topic | Key Data / Takeaway | Source / Link |
|---|---|---|
| Manatee mortality | Over 1,000 manatee deaths in 2021 statewide; starvation linked to seagrass loss. | FWC mortality statistics |
| Seagrass loss | Indian River Lagoon has lost 46,000+ acres of seagrass in the past decade. | EPA NEP: IRL overview |
| Herbicide budget growth | FWC herbicide spending (within mosquito control) up ~36% since 2016. | FWC Annual Report |
| Commonly used chemicals | Glyphosate, 2,4-D, diquat applied by airboat, helicopter, truck, backpack. | FWC Herbicide Schedules |
| Glyphosate in manatees | More than half of sampled Florida manatees showed glyphosate residues. | ScienceDirect study |
| PFAS in manatees | Manatee blood showed elevated PFAS (“forever chemicals”) levels. | NIH / NCBI paper |
| Why seagrass matters | Foundation habitat for 1,000+ fish species; crucial for turtles, seahorses, manatees. | EPA NEP: IRL overview |
| Policy contradiction | Public funds for lagoon restoration while agencies increase herbicide spraying. | SOIRL fertilizer video |
| Alternatives to spraying | Mechanical harvesting, ditch cleaning, and prevention reduce chemical reliance. | OSHA: pesticide safety |
| Take action | Support a constitutional right to clean water; contact officials; report pollution. | Right to Clean Water | Contact Brevard Commissioners | FDEP Pollution Notices |
An Estuary of National Significance
The Indian River Lagoon is not just a Florida treasure, it is an ecosystem of national importance. In the 1990s, the Environmental Protection Agency designated it an Estuary of National Significance, citing its unmatched biodiversity. For decades, headlines have warned of algal blooms, tumored fish, turtle diseases, dolphin die-offs, and manatees starving en masse.
And yet, the spraying continues. The very agency tasked with managing wildlife has been hauling thousands of dead manatees to the Cocoa landfill in recent years, even as research reveals their bodies carry glyphosate and PFAS—the highest levels of toxic fluorinated chemicals ever recorded in the species. These contaminants, scientists warn, may compromise immune systems, damage kidneys, and worsen the decline of already struggling populations.
A Pattern Repeated Through History
This is not a new story, but one that echoes history. From DDT to leaded gasoline, the United States has a long record of discovering the dangers of chemicals decades after widespread damage is done. Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring exposed the genetic harm of DDT only after ten years of relentless advocacy and public denial by industry. Today’s herbicides and PFAS may well follow the same trajectory, approved in the absence of long-term data, only to be restricted after irreversible damage.
Florida activist Mike Knepper has taken the matter into his own hands, sending fish samples from oversprayed waterways to labs. Tests revealed high concentrations of diquat bromide, a chemical that binds to plants and lingers. Scientists later linked bromide compounds in plants to neurodegenerative disease in bald eagles. “It took 25 years to learn bromide was killing eagles,” Knepper says. “What will we discover decades from now about the chemicals we’re pouring into our waters today?”
Politics, Power, and Citizens’ Voices
Pollution in Florida is not only a scientific issue but a political one. Agencies like FWC and FDEP enforce laws written by politicians under pressure from chemical industry lobbyists. The pesticide industry spends tens of millions each year lobbying nationwide, ensuring weak standards and slow regulation.
But citizens are not powerless. In fact, grassroots pressure is often the only thing that shifts the course of environmental policy. It was citizens who pushed to tax themselves to fund lagoon restoration in 2016. It was citizens who forced bans on glyphosate in cities across the state. And it will be citizens who determine whether clean water becomes a constitutional right in Florida.
Manatees cannot wait. Seagrass cannot wait. And neither can the communities that rely on clean water for health, fishing, and future generations.
Florida’s story is America’s story: a cycle of chemicals approved before they’re understood, ecosystems degraded before they’re protected, and citizens forced to rise up before leaders act. The question now is whether we will break that cycle, before silence replaces the voices of manatees, seagrass, and the life of the lagoon itself.
The Brevard County Commission meets on Tuesday, January 24, 2023, at 9:00 a.m. in Viera. Commissioners will once again decide whether chemicals or conservation define the county’s approach.
How you can help
- Support clean water rights: Sign the petition for a constitutional amendment on Florida’s 2024 ballot at floridarighttocleanwater.org.
- Push for legislative reform: Contact your state legislators to amend the Invasive Aquatic Plant Management Act, giving communities more authority over spraying, and to introduce legislation banning pesticides that contain PFAS.
- Act locally: Ask your city or county council to ban glyphosate and reduce herbicide use. Advocate for alternatives like mechanical harvesting and ditch cleaning rather than chemical spraying.
- Demand accountability: Call on agencies to fund deeper necropsies of manatees to study how toxins such as DDT, diquat, PFAS, and glyphosate accumulate in wildlife.
- Stay informed: Don’t accept the words “it’s safe” without independent studies and real data. Books like Superman’s Not Coming by Erin Brockovich explain the complexities of chemical regulation in the U.S.
You can also raise awareness:
- Write about Florida Fish and Wildlife’s herbicide use.
- Share this article: advocatesvoice.com/2023/01/FWCherbicides2023.html
- Use hashtags #StoptheSource and #StoptheSpraying to amplify the message.
Sources & Further Reading
