A majority of Florida waterways are failing water quality standards, even as the state’s pollution enforcement remains near historic lows, according to a new report.
The report was published by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, or PEER, and Waterkeepers Florida, a coalition that is part of the international Waterkeeper Alliance. It is based on 37 years of environmental enforcement data, plus data from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s latest statewide, comprehensive water quality analysis.
Data takeaways
Of more than 4,200 water bodies assessed by FDEP, just over 52% are not meeting water quality standards, according to the state’s comprehensive analysis released earlier this year. For another 15% of assessed water bodies, there isn’t enough data to determine whether or not standards are being met.
In Central Florida, some water bodies failing to meet water quality standards include Lake Jesup (impaired by nutrients), portions of Lake Apopka (impaired by nutrients, plus pesticides found in fish tissue) and parts of the Econlockhatchee River (impaired by e-coli and nutrients), according to FDEP.
Statewide, most water body impairments are driven by high concentrations of nutrients and fecal bacteria, as well as low levels of dissolved oxygen, according to FDEP.
PEER’s analysis of state enforcement data reveals that “a steady decline” in enforcement actions began once former Governor Rick Scott took office in 2011.
The report states that “the Scott administration favored development interests at the expense of environmental protections.”
Between 1988 and 1995, FDEP took action to enforce protective environmental laws in an average 1,048 cases per year. That number plummeted to 431 cases a year, on average, between 2011 and 2018, Scott’s last full year in office.
When Governor Ron DeSantis took over in 2019, he was more publicly supportive of protective environmental programs than Scott had been, according to the PEER report. In DeSantis’ first year in office, the number of environmental enforcement actions temporarily rose, from 371 actions taken in 2018 to 742 in 2020.
After 2020, though, FDEP enforcement actions declined again. They’ve since ticked back up slightly, rising from 579 actions taken in 2023 to 755 in 2025.
Still, “enforcement actions initiated under Governor DeSantis are still less than half of what they were in 2010,” according to the report.
Florida’s pollution protections ‘don’t go far enough’
Lisa Rinaman is the riverkeeper, or chief advocate, at St. Johns Riverkeeper, one of 15 member groups making up Waterkeepers Florida. Rinaman said the findings in the report co-published with PEER are a “significant concern.”
“It's alarming for a state like Florida, where everything depends on clean water, from an economic perspective,” Rinaman said. “Our tourism, our growth; just our quality of life, agriculture.”
Although state rules and protections enacted to reduce nutrient pollution in water bodies like the St. Johns River have worked “to some degree,” Rinaman said, they don’t go far enough — especially because enforcement is lacking.
“This [report] just demonstrates that, those protections that have been in place, they're too lax. They don't go far enough,” Rinaman said. “And then, if you're not enforcing it to ensure that what the model is telling you is what's happening in reality …. then it's really not as good as the paper it's written on.”
Looking forward
The report by PEER and Waterkeepers Florida finds “a growing number of Florida’s water bodies, including estuaries and lakes, fail to meet water quality standards.” However, “the quality of coastal waters and streams has improved somewhat.”
Another piece of good news, Rinaman said, is a provision in Florida’s farm bill, approved by lawmakers earlier this year, that will outlaw the land application of Class B biosolids by 2028. Those Class B biosolids are made up of sewage sludge that’s been treated to reduce (not eliminate) pathogens and toxic chemicals.
However, DeSantis vetoed another bill that would have created protective regulations for Class AA biosolids, which is sewage sludge that’s been treated to a higher level than Class B biosolids.
“That's just going to continue to add to our nutrient pollution problems that we're seeing throughout the state of Florida,” Rinaman said.
FDEP was asked to comment on the report’s findings, but did not provide a response before publication.
