Ericka D'Avanzo's Story

Ericka D'Avanzo finds peace and chaos when she's surfing -- peace in the dolphins rolling by her board, chaos in the untamable wave. What she doesn't like to find is neon green slime oozing out the St. Lucie Inlet toward the fish-filled coral reefs where the surf breaks. The slime is caused by nutrient pollution from the freshwater Lake Okeechobee, which is loaded with fertilizer washed in from farms growing sugar cane, citrus and other crops. When the water levels get too high in the lake, polluted water is discharged into the river and makes it way to the ocean, where surfers find themselves ripping murky, brackish waters instead of a blue crush. Pollution slicks, which can make surfers sick, also smother coral reefs, preventing them from getting the sunlight they need to grow.

Preserving the Surfing Life

Pollution from agriculture and paved urban areas, as well as from inadequately or untreated sewage, frequently gets washed into the ocean after heavy rains. Besides making surfers sick, it has been linked to red tides and other blooms of harmful algae, diseases in corals and sea turtles, and dead zones devoid of ocean life. NRDC is working to stop such pollution at its source by pressing for more effective implementation of the Clean Water Act, and by designing plans for coastal communities to keep polluted storm water and sewage out of our coastal waters. Together with groups such as the Surfrider Foundation, where Ericka works, NRDC fights for better pollution control and monitoring at beaches across the country to make them safe for swimming -- and to make sure you’re informed when they're not.

You can help. Go to city council meetings to keep an eye out for new roads, condominiums and other beachfront development that could increase the flow of polluted runoff and sewage into your surf. Reduce your own contribution to runoff by recycling used motor oil instead of dumping it on your driveway. And join the campaign to save California's San Onofre State Park, home of the surfers' haven Trestles Beach.

Resources for Surfers
State of Our Seas: Are You Swimming in Sewage?
Water Quality Map: Better Know a Beach
Join the Fight: Save San Onofre
More about Nutrient Pollution