Earlier this year, Florida’s First Lady Casey DeSantis made a powerful statement: “We feel an obligation as parents and feel that we should work on behalf of all the parents of this great state to make sure their children have a clean environment and clean water to grow up on.”

Waterkeepers Florida applaud the First Lady’s commitment to restoring and protecting our state’s waters, although it is clear our state legislature does not share that same sense of urgency. Unfortunately, this legislative session failed to yield any meaningful protective policies for Florida’s waterways. Florida Moms demand better for our children and their children.

Inspired by First Lady DeSantis’ words, Moms for Clean Water represents moms around the state of Florida calling for greater protection for ALL of our water resources. We believe that our water should be clean for our children to safely fish, swim, and drink.

“Exploring our rivers and our springs with my boys is one of the simplest joys of being a mom. It is our collective responsibility to ensure clean, healthy waterways  for our children today and for future generations,” said Lisa Rinaman, St. Johns Riverkeeper.

CALL TO ACTION:

Protect ALL Florida Waters

Too often, we see priority given to water resources in specific geographic or socioeconomic regions of the state while others are neglected. All of Florida’s waterways are connected – to pollute one is to pollute them all. Moms for Clean Water urge to do away with the piece-meal approach and support comprehensive, holistic protections for all of our state’s waters.

Stop Pollution at the Source

The old adage “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” is especially true when it comes to protecting our waterways. Pollution sources in our waterways are many and complex with no catchall single approach to fixing them. Moms for Clean Water support holistic policies that keep toxic pollution out of our waterways rather than using time, energy, and money to clean it up after the damage is already done.

Protect Our Land, Protect Our Water

One of the best ways to protect our waterways is to protect the land around it. Conservation land provides a variety of ecosystem services including, water purification, resiliency, and habitat protection. Land that is conserved in its natural state supports vegetation that is effective at removing nutrients and other pollutants from stormwater and keeping them out of our waterways. Moms for Clean Water are calling for increased funding to acquire conservation lands to protect our water resources.

According to Jen Lomberk, Matanzas Riverkeeper, “Swimming and playing in our lakes and rivers is an integral part of growing up in Florida. Those experiences foster a connection to our natural areas and shape our identity as Floridians. The decisions and policies that we make today will determine whether future generations are able to have those experiences.”

Share your Moms for Clean Water story and use the hashtags #MomsForCleanWater, #ProtectWhatYouLove, #CaseyDeSantisForCleanWater. Nominate and tag five moms you know to join you in writing a letter and sharing their clean water stories. For more information on the Moms for Clean Water campaign, visit FloridaMomsForCleanWater.org. 

Waterkeepers Florida is a regional entity composed of  all 13 Waterkeeper organizations  working in the State of Florida throughout 45,000 square miles of watershed and home to over 15 million Floridians. Our collective mission is to protect and restore Florida’s water resources holistically through education, advocacy, and community engagement. (Apalachicola Riverkeeper, Colusa Waterkeeper, Collier County Waterkeeper, Emerald Coastkeeper, Indian Riverkeeper, Lake Worth Waterkeeper, Matanzas Riverkeeper, Miami Waterkeeper, St. Johns Riverkeeper, St. Marys Riverkeeper, Suncoast Waterkeeper, Suwannee Riverkeeper, and Tampa Bay Waterkeeper).