Charlotte
Harbor. Photo Credit: Steven Scott of the Greater Charlotte Harbor Sierra Club
This June, the City of
Punta Gorda made Southwest Florida one step closer to complete protection from urban
fertilizer run-off by passing, unanimously,
a fertilizer management ordinance! Now the only community remaining without a
sufficiently strong urban fertilizer ordinance in the Southwest Gulf region is
Collier County.
Special thanks goes out to
the Greater Charlotte Harbor Group for their support and help on this campaign by
packing City Hall, helping to table at the Punta Gorda Farmer’s Market, and
attending meetings with City Council members and staff!
As you can see below from
the map provided by the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, Punta Gorda was
integral to more comprehensive protection from urban fertilizer run-off in our
region.
If it makes your grass grow, it’s going to make
algae in the water grow- that is
why these urban fertilizer ordinances are important! Nitrogen and phosphorous-rich substances like
fertilizer, sewage and animal waste feed harmful algae and lead to the growth
of toxic Red Tide and blue-green algae which have been plaguing local waterways
and causing fish kills and respiratory illnesses in humans.
The backbone of a strong
fertilizer ordinance includes a summer rainy season ban on nitrogen and
phosphorus application. The Punta Gorda City Council voted unanimously for a
fertilizer ordinance with a rainy season ban (June 1 – September 30th).
During the rainy season in Florida, fertilizer does not have an opportunity to
be absorbed into the soil before our frequent rainstorms wash the fertilizer
off lawns and into canals that lead to our local rivers, estuaries and bays.
Other best practices for
landscaping in a “Florida Friendly” way are:
a “zero phosphorous” rule, unless soil tests show that phosphorous is
necessary; the use of 50% controlled-
release nitrogen; a yearly application
limit for nitrogen (4
lb/1000 ft2).; and maintaining a 10-foot fertilizer-free
zone from the waters’ edge. We CAN
reduce the fertilizer run-off that is fueling harmful algae blooms, like the
present blue-green algae bloom suffocating Charlotte Harbor’s Sunshine Lake.
Warning sign along Sunshine Lake, Sunshine Lake
is located in a residential neighborhood in Port Charlotte.
