Run off in Cape Coral canals comes from many places. It could be your street, your roof or your lawn. The recycled water used for irrigation is loaded with nitrogen and phosphorous which causes plants to thrive and contributes to algae outbreaks.

Last week Lee County Hyacinth Control cleared out about a miles worth of yellow pond lily from the Shelburne Canal in Cape Coral, Florida. Trapped inside that vegetation, was the equivalent of 10 pounds of fertilizer.

Phosphorus can easily bind to soil particles, a state in which plants don’t usually access it. The nutrient generally must be in water in order for the plants to use it. Moreover, as farmers spread more fertilizer, new quantities of phosphorus are made available to crops. But as land erodes or heavy rains hit fields, some of that older phosphorus will make its way into streams, rivers, lakes and ultimately groundwater. In coming decades, greater quantities of legacy phosphorus could get flushed into water sources due to climate change, which is projected to increase heavy precipitation events in the Midwest.

Government and independent scientists believe nutrient runoff is the main cause of the dead zone.  Pollutants such as nitrogen and phosphorus flow into the gulf of Mexico by way of the Mississippi River and its tributaries.

For many, the ethanol industry and the government’s 2005 Renewable Fuel Standard carry a lot of the blame.  Since the governments introduction of the Renewable Fuel Standard in 2005, acreage of U.S. land to farm corn and soy beans has grown by 16.8 million and over 1.2 million acres of grassland has been lost.

Flooding in 2015 and earlier this year washed away tremendous amounts of pollutants that had accumulated on land during the prolonged drought. The sources of much of these nutrients were cornfields, 40% of which are dedicated to producing ethanol, which fuel companies are compelled by Congress to blend with gasoline.

NOAA officials estimate the Dead Zone costs the nation’s seafood and tourism industries $82 million a year. And it likely will get worse, scientists believe. The gulf produces about 40 percent of the nation’s seafood, which includes offshore species such as shrimp and red snapper. And Louisiana is second in seafood production to Alaska, according to The Nature Conservancy.

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The Stickney Water Reclamation is the biggest single source of phosphorus in the entire region that drains into the Mississippi River. Combined with other sewage plant releases a state task force concluded that these plants are responsible for about half of the phosphorus pollution in rivers that drain into the Mississippi.

The need for more aggressive and widespread action is especially acute in Illinois, which by most estimates is the largest contributor of phosphorus and nitrogen pollution to the Gulf of Mexico.

A new $31 million project will help to reduce that pollution by diverting wastewater through three reactors that use catalysts to form tiny, nutrient-rich “pearls” for the fertilizer industry. The district estimates the equipment will produce up to 10,000 tons of slow-release fertilizer a year and reduce the Stickney plant’s phosphorus discharges by about 30 percent.

More still needs to be done, but this project is a good start.

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As we welcome fall, many homeowners realize it is time to fertilize your lawn. The grass has endured the summer stresses and the cool temperatures provide the perfect opportunity for recovery. The benefits of fall fertilization include a healthier turf before winter along with a healthier root system.

Before you fertilize however, think responsibly. Phosphates are a major source of pollution in lakes and streams, and high phosphate levels support over-production of algae and water weeds. Phosphorous comes from many sources such as leaves, lawn clippings, animal waste, and it is in most lawn fertilizers.