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DeSantis touts $112M in water improvement grants
FOX 13's Evan Axelbank heard from the governor on Wednesday as he made a big announcement about keeping the environment clean across Florida.
TAMPA - On Wednesday, Governor Ron DeSantis announced the state was awarding more than $112M in grants to improve water quality and supply across Florida’s Gulf Coast and Central Florida.
The governor made that announcement during a press conference at Hula Bay.
Where will the $112M in grants go?
By the numbers:
He said of those grants, $50M will be in 14 different water supply grants, including the St. John’s River, the Suwanee River, the Southwest Florida Water Management Districts, Polk Regional Water Cooperative, Toho Water Authority, the city of Cape Coral and the city of Live Oak.
Once fully operational, DeSantis said these projects are expected to produce almost 94 million gallons of water per day.
He said $50M will go to 23 projects aimed at protecting Florida’s natural freshwater springs.
READ: Toxic algae in Florida: Scientists warn of hidden dangers
"It’s going to reduce nitrogen, just in those grants, by 100,000 pounds per year in those springs," DeSantis said.
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Gov. DeSantis gives $112M in water improvement grants
Governor Ron DeSantis announced millions of dollars in grant funding to help repair and restore Florida's waterways on the Gulf Coast and in Central Florida.
He said $12M will also go to the state’s universities and counties to drive innovative technology to fight harmful algae blooms.
"Like our investments in Everglades restoration, we believe that reducing circumstances for harmful algal blooms along Florida’s coast is very important, and we want to tackle that head-on," the governor explained.
Why you should care:
Florida Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Alexis Lambert also spoke during Wednesday’s press conference.
She said that, with Florida’s growth, comes a responsibility to manage the state’s water resources intentionally.
"When we protect our water, we protect the foundation of our tourism industry, our fisheries, our coastal communities and our quality of life that brings families to Florida every day," Lambert shared.
The backstory:
DeSantis said since he’s been governor, he said he has funded about 1200 projects across the state to reduce harmful nutrients in Florida’s waterways. He claims that will cut about five million pounds of nitrogen and one million pounds of phosphorus each year.
DeSantis said the state already put about $300M toward developing alternative water supply sources, which is 540M gallons of additional supply per day, and Wednesday’s announcement advances his commitment to protecting and restoring Florida’s water supply.
The Source: This article was written with information presented at the governor's press conference at Hula Bay on Wednesday.