Dr Tracy Fanara | Red Tide, Saharan Dust & Florida Water Quality Science | Tom Rowland Podcast Ep. 962

Dr. Tracy Fanara is an environmental engineer and scientist who earned all three of her degrees from the University of Florida and specializes in water quality issues, hydrological systems, and the complex phenomena of Florida red tide. In this conversation, she reveals the shocking connection between Saharan dust storms in Africa and toxic algae blooms off the coast of Florida, explains why the only true human invention is the wheel, and shares what it was like receiving death threats from bait shop owners during the catastrophic 2018 water crisis that cost Florida $2.7 billion. This is a masterclass in understanding how everything in our coastal ecosystems is connected—from wastewater infrastructure failures in Fort Lauderdale to the cold bottom waters 30-40 miles offshore where red tide blooms begin.

The Only True Human Invention

When the conversation turns to environmental engineering and how humans have tried to manage water flow through concrete, pipes, and infrastructure, Dr. Fanara drops a philosophical bombshell that stops the conversation cold. She explains that there's only been one true human invention in all of history—everything else is biomimicry, copying what nature already does. The revelation leads to a discussion about how environmental engineers should look to natural systems like the Everglades as models for managing water quality and flow. The answer to what that single invention is might surprise you, and her explanation of why it's different from every other human innovation is fascinating. The discussion about the wheel as humanity's only invention starts early in the conversation.

The Everglades, Lake Okeechobee, and Too Many Toilets

Dr. Fanara unpacks the infrastructure nightmare facing coastal Florida cities, particularly Fort Lauderdale, where aging wastewater systems can't handle the volume of development. She describes how pipes near the coastline get inundated during rain events and sea level rise, causing infiltration and inflow that overwhelms wastewater treatment plants built for much smaller capacities. The result is raw or partially treated wastewater being released into natural water bodies, causing beach closures from fecal bacteria. She connects this to the broader problem of Lake Okeechobee—how the Army Corps of Engineers' solution to deadly hurricanes in 1926 and 1928 created a cascade of problems that now involves toxic cyanobacteria releases to both coasts. The deep dive into wastewater infrastructure and the Lake Okeechobee crisis unfolds throughout the first third of the episode.

Saharan Dust, Marine Bacteria, and the Red Tide Connection

This might be Dr. Fanara's favorite example of how everything is connected. She traces a path from dust storms in the Saharan Desert in Africa, across the Atlantic Ocean via upper level winds, explaining how these dust clouds not only create spectacular sunrises in the Florida Keys but also feed a specific marine cyanobacteria species whose limiting nutrient is iron. That organism's life cycle eventually feeds the Karenia brevis cells on the ocean bottom that become red tide blooms. It's the kind of connection that seems impossible until she walks through each step. Tom shares an incredible photo from around 2000 in Key West when Saharan dust was so thick it created otherworldly morning light for over a week. The complete explanation of the Saharan dust phenomenon and its connection to Florida's ecosystem begins early in the conversation.

Death Threats, $2.7 Billion in Losses, and the 2018 Water Crisis

Dr. Fanara opens up about what she calls the hardest point in her life—the 2018 red tide crisis that devastated Southwest Florida. She describes receiving death threats, primarily from bait shop owners, as people desperately searched for someone to blame. The finger-pointing went from Big Sugar to Mosaic to Mote Marine Laboratory itself when people discovered the research institution had once received $2,500 for a turtle run from Mosaic. As Jim Cantore called her "the face of red tide," she became the accessible target for people's anger and frustration. She shares specific messages she received, including "there's a special place in hell for you" and "I know where you live." The economic devastation was real—$2.7 billion in losses as toxic aerosols traveled more than 30 miles inland and national media attention told the world to avoid Florida. The full story of the 2018 crisis and what she learned from it unfolds in the middle of the episode.

Clay, Oxidizers, and the Quest to Mitigate Red Tide

Scientists are now permitted to test three different mitigation technologies to combat red tide blooms, though Dr. Fanara notes they're not the clay-based solutions many expected. She explains how the clay method works—binding both the Karenia brevis cells and their toxins to clay particles that then sink to the bottom. The questions that have delayed implementation are fascinating: Does the toxin get released over time? How much clay do you need for a massive, dispersed bloom? Will it impact benthic organisms on the ocean floor? She discusses time-release oxidizers being tested, including one developed by her best friend's mother, Dr. Dana Wedzel. The challenge isn't just killing the bloom—it's doing so without creating another environmental disaster down the line. The detailed discussion of mitigation strategies and their challenges happens in the second half of the episode.

Final Thoughts from Tom

This conversation with Dr. Tracy Fanara opened my eyes to connections I never would have made on my own. The idea that dust from Africa feeds a bacteria that feeds red tide off our coast—that's the kind of thing you can't make up. And hearing what she went through during the 2018 crisis, the death threats and the finger-pointing, it really drives home how desperate people become when their livelihoods are threatened by environmental disasters.

What strikes me most is how everything she talks about comes back to the same fundamental problem: we built too much, too fast, without thinking about long-term consequences. Whether it's wastewater systems that can't handle the load, or damming the Everglades and creating the Lake Okeechobee discharge problem, or just continuing to permit more building when the infrastructure can't support it—these are all human-caused amplifications of natural processes.

Dr. Fanara is working on solutions at NOAA that could help us understand and predict these events better. She's not just complaining about problems—she's in the trenches trying to fix them with ecosystem modeling and better forecasting. If you care about Florida's water quality, whether you're an angler, a boater, or just someone who lives here, you need to hear this whole conversation. It'll change how you think about our relationship with the environment.