The Point

The Point, July 2, 2025: Florida adopts new plan to fight water pollution

WUFT | By WUFT News

Published July 2, 2025 at 8:00 AM EDT

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Swimmers explore the Ichetucknee head spring. The spring’s nitrate levels exceed FDEP’s standards of 0.35 mg/mL. New plans aim to reduce that load by tasking polluters with reductions. (Rose Schnabel/WUFT News)

• WUFT News: State adopts revised plans to improve water quality. "The Florida Department of Environmental Protection adopted plans to reduce pollution to Florida’s rivers, springs and estuaries on Friday. Florida’s Clean Waterways Act required the agency update the plans by July 1."

• WUFT News: DeSantis vetoes $6.25 million slated for Ocklawaha River restoration. "Governor Ron DeSantis took his veto pen to the Rodman (Kirkpatrick) Dam line item in the state’s budget, dashing advocates’ hopes that 'this could be the year.'"

• WUFT News: Balanced budget top priority for Archer as the city looks to pay off its growing debt. "A primary area for potential cuts was the Municipal Service Taxing Unit (MTSU) that provides enhanced law enforcement services to the city. Archer, a city with a population just over 1,000, doesn’t have its own police department."

• The Alligator: Illiteracy’s hidden toll on Alachua County families. "Nearly one in five adults in Alachua County can’t read well enough to navigate daily life – part of a rising tide of illiteracy that has quietly surged across the country in recent years."

• Mainstreet Daily News: Alachua tests 2-hour parking on Main Street. "The city of Alachua is undergoing a six-month parking experiment for free, two-hour on-street parking spots on the west side of Main Street."

• WCJB: Gainesville city leaders to pass along transaction fees when making certain payments. "Starting August 1, a transaction fee of 2.45% will be charged for online transactions."

• Mainstreet Daily News: TaskForce for Ending Homelessness receives over $2M in community grants. "The TaskForce for Ending Homelessness recently announced the award of $2,088,963 in community grants to nine nonprofit organizations serving individuals and families experiencing or at risk of homelessness."

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Around the state

President Donald Trump tours "Alligator Alcatraz," a new migrant detention facility at Dade-Collier Training and Transition facility, Tuesday, July 1, 2025, in Ochopee, Fla. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

• WFSU-Tallahassee: "Alligator Alcatraz" opens with Trump visit. "'The incredible thing is picking the site because the site was one of the most natural sites. It might be as good as the real Alcatraz. Well, that's a spooky one too, isn't it?' Trump said."

• Jacksonville Today: ICE facility at Camp Blanding could house 2,000 detainees. "After greeting President Donald Trump at the new immigration detention center dubbed 'Alligator Alcatraz' in the Florida Everglades, DeSantis said Camp Blanding’s detention facility will help the state and federal efforts in cracking down on illegal immigration."

• WUSF-Tampa: DeSantis restores money to buy lands in the Florida Wildlife Corridor. "The $200 million had been swept from the corridor acquisition money by state lawmakers before a line-item veto reversed that move."

• WLRN-Miami: Haitian-American leaders press Trump not to deport TPS holders to dangerous homeland. "Top Haitian-American community leaders in South Florida are pleading to President Donald Trump to reverse a decision to terminate Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, for hundreds of thousands of Haitian immigrants."

• Central Florida Public Media: Advocates say lawmakers brought some wins, plus big misses for Florida’s environment this year. "This year, state lawmakers approved $18 million for the state’s primary conservation land acquisition program, Florida Forever, falling short of the $100 million annual amount promised just two years ago."

• WFTS-Tampa Bay: SNAP cuts add to struggles. "Opponents of the SNAP cuts included in President Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” said the elderly and children will be hurt the most."

• WGCU-Fort Meyers: Jail to a job: How puppetry is helping change inmates' futures. "One might wonder whether giving incarcerated individuals puppet-making materials might lead to inappropriate creations. Fisher shared how what emerged was surprisingly earnest."