Jenny Staletovich

New rules for the troubled reefs and turquoise waters that make up the vast marine sanctuary that surrounds the Florida Keys are threatening to spark a Conch-style uprising. 

Some of the most dramatic sea rise around South Florida has occurred in the last two decades: at least five inches near Virginia Key since 1992.

Gov. Ron DeSantis announced plans to propose sweeping legislation meant to address Florida's water woes in a press conference Wednesday outside a Jupiter sewage plant.

The proposals largely follow the recommendations of a panel of scientists DeSantis appointed in April - a sharp departure from his predecessor Rick Scott, who refused to meet with scientists. DeSantis said the broad measures will be aimed at the state’s biggest sources of pollution: farms, aging wastewater treatment plants, stormwater and treated human waste used as fertilizer.

Dirty beaches in the wake of record-setting king tides across South Florida this week should come as no surprise, scientists say.

“No, there’s not any coincidence,” said Florida International University geochemist and water quality expert Henry Briceno.

Just days after record-setting tides, Florida Department of Health officials issued warnings Thursday about unsafe levels of bacteria at four Miami-Dade County beaches: Crandon Park’s North Beach, Virginia Key, Cape Florida and Surfside at 93rd Street. They told swimmers to stay out of the water.

A lease on sugar farms at the center of dispute that pitted Gov. Ron DeSantis against South Florida water managers was cancelled Thursday.

DeSantis announced Florida Crystals terminated the lease on land slated for a 17,000-acre reservoir - a critical piece of Everglades restoration needed to provide water to southern marshes. The sugar farmers voluntarily cancelled the lease on Monday, he said.

A new United Nations climate report released in Monaco this week paints another grim picture for the planet and Florida.

Seas are not only rising, but accelerating and worsening flood threats.

A King Tide forecast for the weekend could bring flooding to parts of South Florida.

The tide is expected to peak Sunday and Monday mornings between about 9 and 10 a.m. and may approach record highs as the moon sweeps closer to the earth.

"They do look like they'll be roughly comparable to the highest tide we saw in 2015 and 2016, which were pretty noteworthy," said Brian McNoldy, a hurricane researcher who tracks the tides at the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science.

Two years ago when Jennifer Cheek and her husband bought their tidy stucco house near the Little River with a rambling backyard - grand even by Miami standards - they thought they’d left behind the threat of devastating sea rise they faced in their Miami Beach neighborhood.

Miami youths frustrated with the pace of efforts to address climate change have a message for adults: We're starting a revolution.

At a rally outside Miami Beach City Hall on Friday — one of dozens around the state and hundreds across the nation — protesters waved signs, chanted and expressed outrage at the lack of action. The rally was organized by local students and adults and part of the strikewithus.org effort sponsored by about 300 organizations.

Students across South Florida and the state will be skipping school Friday to join a nationwide youth climate strike.