Poor quality canals affect nearby waters in the FL Keys
Channel: Seagrass Ecosystems Research Lab
Date: 19/11/2016

A massive network of manmade canals was built in the Florida Keys during the 1950’s to increase the number of waterfront homes. Since then canals have become traps for marine organic matter as well as polluted ground water stemming from onsite waste water management. Many of these canals have started showing typical symptoms of unhealthy, eutrophic water that have resulted in habitats intolerable to local flora and fauna. Waters in the FL Keys are part of the FL Keys National Marine Sanctuary, though poor quality canal waters are additionally altering near shore sediment and community composition, violating qualitative standards of imbalanced ecosystems. To improve these canals and minimize their effects, governments within the FL Keys have integrated multiple types of technologies to determine the most feasible option for larger-scale water quality improvement efforts. Technologies haven't been installed long so we're still measuring their effectiveness. Keep updates at http://seagrass.fiu.edu/canals/