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WPEC-TV CBS12 News :: News - Treasure Coast News - Oyster bed restoration aiding in cleaning St. Lucie River

Oyster bed restoration aiding in cleaning St. Lucie River

STUART, Fla. -- Once
covered in green slime, polluted by discharges from Lake Okeechobee,
today the St. Lucie River is getting cleaner.
Scientists say an
ongoing oyster bed restoration project in the St. Lucie River is
cleaning a half billion gallons of toxins from the water. In 2009,
Martin County received four-million stimulus dollars to help restore
oyster beds in the St Lucie River.
Coastal engineers say the project
is so successful they've counted 10 million oysters now thriving and
acting as a filter, keeping the water clean.
"This is part of the
Everglades restoration program, not only do we have to clean up the
water coming into the estuaries, but we need to have an ecosystem that
can keep that water clean, said Kathy Fitzpatrick, Martin County Coastal
Engineer.
"Those 10 million oysters will clean up a half billion
gallons of water. They take the toxins out of the water. That's going to
be so important for helping to restore the river," said Sen. Bill
Nelson, (D) Florida.
Nelson took the green sludge to Congress in 2005
to lobby for federal clean-up dollars. He says the change in only a few
short years is amazing.
The St. Lucie River was so poor in water
quality in 2009 it was one of 4 sites in the state to receive those
funds. Now the water color is even noticeably changing from dark brown,
to a sky blue.
Oyster bed restoration aiding in cleaning St. Lucie River

Tuesday, May 1 2012, 02:34 PM EDT

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