Southwest Florida could lose billions due to poor water quality.
The economic consequences from recurrent events like red tide in Southwest Florida might reach astonishing levels, according to a recent collaborative study done by three local environmental groups.
Representatives from The Conservancy of Southwest Florida, Captains for Clean Water, and the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation revealed during a news conference on Tuesday that the region’s economic assets, valued at over $31 billion, are in jeopardy because of poor water quality.
According to the estimate by Greene Economics LLC, a bad water event, like the algal bloom situation in 2018, could cost Lee County’s coastal economy $3 billion in losses, $1.7 billion for Collier County, and $466 million for Charlotte County, according to a recent article by Mahmoud Bennett of Fox4.
In addition, the report projects that the three counties will see economic losses in property prices of $17.8 billion.
The Conservancy of Southwest Florida’s President and CEO, Bob Moher, stressed that the public and elected authorities should take note of these figures.
“And let’s face it, the fact that these problems persist should irritate everyone who loves and lives in this community. Should be motivated and mobilized… We truly have no more time to waste. In order to advance solutions, we must take the initiative,” said Moher.
The environmental organizations point out that this report is among the first to offer a thorough analysis of the financial effects of toxic algal blooms. They do point out that these numbers are only the beginning.
They asked people to get in touch with their local authorities on Tuesday in order to address the problem of water quality.
“Keep in mind that these figures are only the tip of the iceberg as we examine them. Significant invisible damages also exist and aren’t yet represented,” the spokesman underlined.
The organizations declared that they would shortly bring this study to Tallahassee legislators. In addition, they have another Water Quality Panel scheduled for late January.
This article originally appeared on Fox4
