PINECREST, Fla. – As we continue to celebrate Earth Month, Local 10 News is highlighting an exciting new innovation that scientists are pilot-testing right now.
It has the potential to be an effective tool to help clean up our waterways and save Biscayne Bay and the best part is: the solution comes from nature.
Indeed, something is blooming in Pinecrest ― and it may hold the key to help save Biscayne Bay.
Jazmin Locke-Rodriguez, a post-doctoral associate at Florida International University’s Institute of Environment, has witnessed the real-time degradation of the bay. The Miami native said she’s determined to find solutions to help restore the watershed.
“So we’re really using the power of plants to help uptake pollution in the water, specifically nutrient pollution,” she said. “We really were starting to see water getting worse and worse. Unfortunately, this water has really become high in nutrients.”
Nutrient pollution, phosphorus and nitrogen, caused by runoff from land-based sources such as sewage breaks, septic leaks, fertilizers, un-picked up pet waste and dirty storm water, all flow into our canals that all outflow into Biscayne Bay, sparking devastating fish kills and algae blooms.
“We need to figure out how it is we can clean up the nutrients and the contaminants and stop them from getting into Biscayne Bay,” said Todd Crowl, the director of the FIU Institute of Environment. “This is just one of those possible tools.”
It’s called Phytoflora, a tool Locke-Rodriguez has been developing over the past five years, strategically placing a floating island in the middle of a dirty canal to mimic the way wetlands naturally filter nutrients, like in the Everglades.
“Plants naturally have the power to absorb nutrients, using photosynthesis to remediate,” she said. “So all we’re really doing is giving the plants a home to be able to do just that.”
But instead of using cattails, Locke-Rodriguez is growing flowers on a specially designed raft. The flowers rise and fall with the water, with their roots hanging down submerged in the canal.
“And they’re able to pull up this pollution, specifically nitrogen and phosphorus, into their stems, their leaves, their flowers, and consume it and prevent it from continuing down into Biscayne Bay,” she said.
Locke-Rodriguez installed a prototype in February, using a nutrient-loaded canal in Pinecrest for her pilot program.
“This is amazing, our waterways are so important,” said Village of Pinecrest Councilwoman Shannon Del Prado. “When we learned about this program, it was like, oh my goodness and it’s a win-win, as you can see, it’s beautiful.”
These floating flower islands have more than just one benefit. Not only are they cleaning up the canal water by sucking up all those nutrients, but they also serve to beautify the waterway.
Locke-Rodriguez uses African marigolds, celosia and irises, effective flowers that not only work but can also make desirable bouquets.
The idea is to harvest the flowers and sell them at the local farmers market, using the proceeds to help further grow the program and scale the impact.
“So as the plants start to grow, they’re cleaning more and more as they get larger, right? And every time we harvest them, we’re actually incentivizing them to grow big again, which means we’re cleaning all over again, starting the cycle once more,” said Locke-Rodriguez.
It’s still early, only three months in, but the science is promising.
“It’s a start,” said Crowl. “Even if it removes 10% of the phosphorus load, that’s 10% better than we would have been.
“Knowing that the outlet, as the water flows out, will be a lot cleaner as it pours into the bay, and that this could become a model for other communities to implement so that we, as a larger community, can see a remarkable difference to the nutrients that are pouring into our bay.”
Locke-Rodriguez is still testing to see which flowers work best in that particular canal. Right now, the giant marigolds are proving to be the most successful.
It’s still too early to tell how many nutrients are being reduced.
Scientists will know more once the flowers grow in more and the rainy season starts in May, which is when we see those heavy nutrient loads in our canals and bay.