Key West is upgrading its central sewage plant to include advanced wastewater treatment and deep well injection. In Key Largo, the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority has negotiated a contract with Ogden Systems to sewer Key Largo and to treat the sewage to advanced wastewater treatment standards with deep well injection. The Florida Keys have come to a crossroads where nearshore water-quality issues need to be dealt with in a timely and effective manner. Central sewage with sound infrastructure, including lines that do not leak and plants that remove both pathogens and nutrients, is needed sooner rather than later. Mated pairs of French angelfish, Pomacanthus paru, live in large territories spanning a broad range of depths, where they feed on sponges and, to a lesser extent, gorgonian polyps and algae.
Juveniles act as cleaners until about three inches in length.
The Florida Keys National Maine Sanctuary Water Quality Protection program has a significant research and monitoring component. This includes coral research, seagrass research, and coral monitoring, and is currently funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The monitoring conducted by the EPA is closely integrated with the rest of the scientific monitoring that occurs in the sanctuary. The sanctuary's overall monitoring strategy currently is concentrated in the no-take zones, and is conducted on three different levels. Level 2 monitoring involves ecosystem structure and human activities.