STUART, Fla. — The waters of the winding South Fork of the St. Lucie River have the attention of those who visit Halpatiokee Regional Park.
“This is a scenic vista right here and it looks like chocolate milk,” said Jim Moir, executive director of the Indian Riverkeeper.
Environmental expert says this could be connected to development in Martin County
"The water quality just the coloration kind of speaks for itself right there,” added parkgoer Patrick Tilley. “It looks pretty disgusting.”
Tilley walks past the river when he plays disc golf and says he wouldn’t dare swim in it.
"It’s very upsetting to be locally and live here and to not even be able to necessarily access the local water around you and to question what’s coming out of it," he said.
Moir tested the river’s turbidity levels Thursday to evaluate the water's transparency. He found the water isn’t clear enough for sunlight to reach plants at the bottom.
“If you can’t have photosynthesis the plants won’t grow,” said Moir. “If you can’t have the aquatic vegetation then nothing else is going to be living.”
He said the clarity is even worse than it is at the St. Lucie Lock and Dam, where Lake Okeechobee discharges have been flowing since December.
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"This is not happening because of the management of Lake Okeechobee. This is happening because of the management of development in Martin County," Moir said.
He believes the sediment runoff is coming from a construction site south of the park, but we have not been able to confirm whether that's true.
"The only place that’s under construction right now further to the south that’s connected to this water body is the Atlantic Fields development," said Moir.
WPTV's Cassandra Garcia reached out to both the South Florida Water Management District and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to find out if they’re investigating. She's waiting to hear back.
In the meantime, the community wonders if water clarity in Martin County will ever improve.
"It seems like the local norm at this point with all the development going around," said Tilley.
"To allow this to happen is not only shocking but very concernful, and it really concerns me that as we move away from these agencies capacity to regulate that it might get worse," said Moir.
