KEY WEST, Fla. — Mayor Sam Kaufman has called a special meeting and workshop of the Key West City Commission to consider a new approach to the city’s growing sargassum problem.
The public workshop is scheduled for 3 to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 22, at Key West City Hall, 1300 White St.
Commissioners will discuss developing a comprehensive sargassum management plan and beginning the permitting process for a potential pilot program. The proposed system would use barriers and pumping equipment to collect the seaweed before it accumulates and decomposes along the shoreline.
The collected material would be dewatered and hauled away for disposal or other beneficial use. Similar systems have been developed or deployed in Mexico and other communities affected by heavy sargassum inundation.
Dr. Brian Lapointe, a research professor at Florida Atlantic University’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, is scheduled to join other scientists and experts at the workshop. Presentations will address water quality, hydrogen sulfide produced by decomposing sargassum, environmental impacts, permitting requirements and the city’s existing beach-removal efforts.
“Sargassum is no longer simply a nuisance,” Kaufman said. “It presents serious concerns for our residents, our water quality, our beaches and our fragile marine environment.”
The workshop is intended to identify the regulatory and practical steps necessary to establish a carefully monitored pilot program and measure whether the proposed technology can be used safely and effectively in the Florida Keys.
The meeting will be live streamed on the City website.
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Taking action! Talk is cheap but actions speak louder than words! Go Mayor Kaufman!
Thank you, Ted!