Residents, Experts and Contractor Spar Over Herbicide Use After El Cam Canal Fish Kill; Council Orders Workshop

Residents, environmental advocates and contractors pressed the Port St. Lucie City Council on waterway management and pesticide use after a fish‑kill event in the El Cam Waterway following a June 16 aquatic herbicide application.

At public comment and during a follow‑up presentation, residents described dead fish, respiratory symptoms and worries about long‑term human and wildlife health. Abrianna White, who said she lives on Fallon Drive on the El Cam Waterway, said chemicals can “cause blistering” and called for mechanical harvesting and other nonchemical alternatives. James Watt, who described decades of experience handling aquatic vegetation, told the council he has filed federal label violation complaints and urged lab testing of targeted plants and public notice consistent with state rules. Brian Call and other longtime residents said the treated plants included eelgrass and other valuable species that provide food for fish and shellfish.

Sharon Gillen Walters, president of Aquatic Vegetation Control (ABC), told the council ABC applied the chelated‑copper product Nautique on June 16 as part of a submerged treatment and that a fish‑mortality event was reported later that week. Walters said ABC did not perform a…