Dec. 5 Water Quality Virtual Update to include presentations by Sarasota County staff and two nonprofit organizations

Event to be held from 3 to 5 p.m.

Registration is open for Sarasota County’s Water Quality Virtual Update, which will be held on Monday, Dec. 5, county staff has announced.

“The virtual update will highlight the county’s ongoing commitment to water quality education, outreach initiatives and improvement projects,” a news release explains.

Sarasota County Commissioner Ron Cutsinger and county staff will deliver updates and comments, the release adds.

The program will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. on Dec. 5, the release notes. To register for it, visit this link.

The county departments with staff members who will be taking part in the update are Public Utilities; Public Works; Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources; Planning and Development Services; and the University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agricultural Services (UF/IFAS) Extension and Sustainability program. In addition, the release continues, representatives of the Gulf Coast Community Foundation will offer a presentation on the Foundation’s Playbook for Healthy Waterways, and leaders of the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program will provide remarks on the state of Sarasota Bay and the impacts of Hurricane Ian.

An interactive session will address actions that individuals and neighborhoods can pursue “to support water quality, the release points out.

The update has been characterized as an extension of the Water Quality Summit that Sarasota County staff conducted in 2019.

“Water quality is a priority issue both locally and across the state,” said Lee-Hayes Byron, director of the Sarasota County UF/IFAS Extension and Sustainability program, in the release. “We look forward to this opportunity to update residents and businesses who care deeply about our local waters.”

For more information, call 311 or visit the county website, www.scgov.net.