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FGCU’s The Water School shares statewide water-quality assessment and policy-ready data tools
Summary
Program Coordinator Rachel Rotz presented The Water School’s statewide water-quality assessment April 14, noting peer-reviewed publications, scenario-based recommendations, and plans to expand dashboard access and present findings to broader audiences including EPA directors and national conferences.
Rachel Rotz, Program Coordinator and Associate Professor in FGCU’s Department of Marine and Earth Sciences, briefed the Board on The Water School’s statewide water-quality assessments, describing the team’s mapping of septic-tank risk and other indicators and noting that two Water School publications have appeared in peer-reviewed journals and are being cited by other scholars.
Trustee Richard Eide asked whether The Water School had attracted interest from other states or countries; Rotz said inquiries to date were primarily from within Florida, with Kansas State University conducting similar work and expressing interest. She said as the team becomes more adept with the SAS Viya dashboard, opportunities could arise in the fall to present to EPA directors and a national audience.
When Trustee Paul Applegarth asked whether recommendations would follow from the analyses and whether the data could translate into policy or funding changes, Rotz said the team would make recommendations based on scenario analyses but emphasized that these represent one set of options and stakeholders should use the data to inform their own decisions.
Trustee Sandy Stilwell Youngquist noted that some of the highest-septic-risk areas on the map included Captiva Island and cautioned that property owners not directly affected may not perceive the same level of need; Rotz stressed the need for regional collaboration and cross-jurisdictional coordination because water systems are interconnected.
