Bost moored off the coast of Florida
Preserving Our Coastal Waters
Preserving Our Coastal Waters
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Healthy Ponds: Improved Flood Control and Cleaner Water

Empowering Suncoast communities to reduce erosion in their stormwater detention ponds to maximize flood control and improve water quality that curbs harmful algal blooms like Red Tide through best management practices.

Why It Matters

Bank erosion in stormwater ponds reduces holding capacity for flood control and stormwater runoff accounts for 65% of the excess nutrients in our waterways that feed Red Tide and other Harmful Algal Blooms. START (Solutions To Avoid Red Tide) is a 501 (C) (3) grassroots nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing damaging nutrient loads to protect Florida’s coastal ecosystems. Founded in 1996 after a devastating Red Tide event, START’s promotes community-driven solutions rooted in public education and measurable impacts.
 

Our Healthy Ponds Initiative

The Healthy Pond Collaborative was launched to help neighborhoods enhance the performance of their stormwater detention ponds, a critical filtering tool for stormwater runoff before it reaches our bays and the Gulf. Most local stormwater ponds operate at only 40% to 60% efficiency in removing excess nutrients. The Healthy Pond Collaborative provides hands-on guidance and financial support for communities to enhance pond performance through landscaping, irrigation and fertilizing best maintenance practices.

Healthy Ponds

Thanks to generous funding from the Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation and the Gulf Coast Community Foundation, START offers attractive Healthy Pond grants that help community associations and local stakeholders to implement pond enhancements.

Make Healthy Ponds
START Volunteers

What does START do to help reduce excess nutrients already in our waterways? START continues to help fund the Sarasota Bay Watch’s Clam Seeding Program that has seeded over 2 million water-filtering clams in Sarasota Bay and our Shuck ‘N Save Restaurants continue to provide shell from their diners to the oyster restoration project in the Manatee River.

Get the Details
Dead Fish from Red Tide

Join START and concerned citizens in our ongoing advocacy program to encourage federal, state and local policy makers to take action to keep unwanted nutrients that feed Red Tide out of our waterways.

How You Can Help

Headline News

MORE POND FUNDING AVAILABLE

MORE POND FUNDING AVAILABLE

June 8th, 2026

Thanks to the great generosity of the Charles and Margery Barancik Foundation, the Healthy Pond Collaborative (HPC) has just received a major funding extension that will allow us to serve more communities along the Sun[read more...]
RIVENDELL'S POND STEWARD PROGRAM

RIVENDELL'S POND STEWARD PROGRAM

June 8th, 2026

The following Guest Article was written by Bob Frank. Many communities rely on stormwater ponds.  These engineering landscape features serve a primary function of managing stormwater and preventing floods, and thankfully, they are very effective in[read more...]
HURRICANE SEASON PREDICTIONS

HURRICANE SEASON PREDICTIONS

June 8th, 2026

Dr. Philip Klotzbach, a prominent hurricane specialist, along with his meteorologist team at Colorado State University, are known for their annual tropical weather outlooks that are issued during the spring and summer. They are anticipating[read more...]
SEAFOOD SAVVY

SEAFOOD SAVVY

June 8th, 2026

New England Style Cod Chowder 45 minutes  Serves 4 Ingredients 4 oz meaty salt pork or slab bacon, diced 2 tbsp unsalted butter 1 large onion, diced 4 stalks of celery with leaves, finely chopped Freshly ground pepper, to taste 2 large Yukon[read more...]
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RED TIDE STATUS REPORT May 29, 2026

June 8th, 2026

Current ConditionsOver the past week, the red tide organism, Karenia brevis, was observed at background concentrations in three samples from Southwest Florida and one sample from Northwest Florida. We continue to use satellite imagery (USF and NOAA[read more...]
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