What we can do about our water!

The single most important thing we can do about our canal water is stopping to use fertilizers on our lawns and yards, especially the liquid, nitrogen containing kind. It's ironic first we put these unnatural chemicals on our yards to make the plants grow, then the rains wash them into our canals. There it promotes the water vegetation to an almost explosive growth. It grows so thick, that it hinders swimmers and boat propellers. It also looks unsightly although it does oxygenates the water. Now we go and dump again poisonious unnatural chemicals into the canals, to kill these weeds. Where did these thousands and thousands of tiny Moskitofish go??? Now we have all that slime of ecaying vegetation swimming on the water. The algae are having a field day turning the water into a cloudy green pea soup. Now efforts need to be taken to collect the slime and moving it away. This slime should be layered under our bushes and trees (sheet composting) for healthy fertilization and weed suppression. But no, we give it away, rather use chemical fertilizer and mulch with Cypress mulch which destroys our hundred year old Florida Cypress forests……..and so on……. Brigitte

SAFE BOATING BEGINS WITH A PROGRAM FROM THE COAST GUARD AUXILIARY.

Have you ever wondered why Coast Guard rescue boats and rescue helicopters are always ready? They inspect their craft inside and out, they check all equipment and lines. They start the engines and functionally check them, along with steering, lights and radios. After everything is secured, they check for leaks and fumes. Then, and only then, do they report READY FOR DUTY. Remember, SAFE BOATING IS NO ACCIDENT. If every boater took at least 10 minutes for the same kind of check, fewer outings would end in an accident that could have been averted. Call Norma Karpiscak 596-7664 and sign up for our next Boating Skills and Seamanship program beginning September 12 at 7pm. We meet at the Coast Guard Auxiliary building 4340 Calienta Street, Hernando Beach.

Fertilizing

At the meeting, where it was discussed that the Weeki Wachee should receive the special status of being an "Outstandiing Florida Water," I heard how damaging fertilizers are to our waterways. It was strongly suggested not to fertilize lawns close to the water. Stay away a few yards from the edge of our canals. Rain water washes all the chemicals into the water where the weeds have a field day......... (Brigitte)

Welcome baskets:
All of us members who are in business should give a business card and maybe a small gift to Jeanine to enhance the Welcome basket. New owners will feel welcomed and informed about neighborhood businesses. Respond with your opinion!

Rainbarrels:
Did you ever think of utilizing the clean sediment-free, soft, chemical free rain water for your bushes and trees?? I found this site where you can buy rain barrels: http://www.composters.com/docs/rainbarrels.html

Coney Alligood writes:
Boat Lift
It is my opinion that our boatlift has outlived its reason to be there. I can see only 2 reasons for the lift now: (1) Keep salt water out of our canals, and (2) Maintain the water level in our canals. I don’t believe either of these reasons are valid. The water level on the north side of the lift at low tide is approx. 15 inches below the level on the south side. At high tide the level is about 5 inches above the level on the south side. (at 2:00PM on 7/20/2001 it was 10 inches higher than the south side). If the dam under the lift were opened there would be some water flow in both directions, through this canal and into the middle and south areas. The reason our canals are fresh water is due to many small springs in our canals. Without these springs our canals would be all salt water. There has to be fairly large underground channels and connections to the gulf. This big old jacks didn’t come over the lift. I do not believe that removing the dam would affect the overall water levels of these canals enough to be a problem. If, in addition, we could get a spillway cut into the berm on the outside north-south canal, it seems to me that this would aid in maintaining our canal’s water level. This spillway, to be effective would probably need to be one or two hundred feet long, and cut down to 2 or 3 inches of our desired water level, and cemented. With this spillway, water from the gulf would flow in any time the tide rises to that level and above. Since high tide will not occur at the same time at both places, there should, at times, be water flow from the spillway to the “lift”. The money saved by eliminating the boat lift, I believe should be spent on building the spillway, and by opening the canal to the west, so that boats would not have to go under the low bridge. The potential savings on not having to maintain and expand the boatlift, and not building a higher bridge, should pay for the spillway, removing the dam, and opening the canal. This is only my opinion, If anyone else has an opinion, agreeing or disagreeing, please pass it on to Mr. Flewelling, and he will be glad to print it.

Coney Alligood 3504 Croaker Dr. coneya@earthlink.net

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