SOB Save Our Bay Clean water for Choctawhatchee Bay

Protecting Choctawhatchee Bay

Clean water, healthy wildlife, and public accountability for our bay.

Start with the petition and current health alerts, then explore the evidence, local solutions, and public action steps focused on stormwater pollution, PFAS, Vibrio risk, and long-term restoration of the Choctawhatchee Bay Estuary.

Choctawhatchee Bay Estuary Stormwater accountability PFAS and Vibrio awareness
Sign the petition Review health alerts

Take action now

Start with the petition, current alerts, and local ways to help.

This is the fastest path for a first-time visitor: sign the petition, join the Facebook community, review the health alerts, and connect with the campaign for restoration and monitoring work.

What to do first

  • Sign the petition calling for an EPA-led investigation into stormwater mismanagement.
  • Review the Vibrio and PFAS alerts before entering or eating from local waters.
  • Join the Facebook community to stay informed and share updates.
  • Help with bioswales, shoreline restoration, data collection, outreach, and policy advocacy.
Sign the petition Join Facebook group Read health alerts

Community voices

Statements from supporters calling for cleaner water and stronger stewardship.

The campaign also maintains a "1000+ Friends of Save Our Bay" supporter list.

View the full supporter list

At a glance

Five things every visitor should understand right away.

Why this matters

Stormwater pollution is presented as a wildlife, health, and accountability crisis.

Choctawhatchee Bay is framed here as a cultural, ecological, and economic asset under pressure from unregulated stormwater, rapid development, erosion, algal blooms, and chemical pollution.

What is happening?

The Choctawhatchee Bay is presented as priceless to the region's culture and economy, yet increasingly threatened by contaminated stormwater linked to development and tourism. That runoff degrades habitat, stresses wildlife, and raises direct public health concerns.

The campaign argues that awareness alone is not enough. What is needed is a comprehensive, collaborative, and effective plan to reduce pollution, restore ecosystems, and protect the bay for future generations.

Stormwater SOS

Walton County's fiscal year 2023 budget was cited at $318 million. Applying a typical 1 to 3 percent stormwater allocation suggests annual spending should fall between $3.2 million and $9.5 million.

One cited public spending data point was a $14.8 million allocation in 2023 for a new stormwater treatment plant. The site argues that a one-time capital project alone does not prove sufficient ongoing funding for operations, maintenance, and additional projects.

How the response is organized

A 24-zone monitoring model supported by 15 public action chapters.

The initiative describes a 24-area stakeholder model where governments, agencies, conservation groups, HOAs, and citizens each take responsibility for a defined area around the bay. The public chapter pages are the visitor-facing version of that broader structure.

Sensor network and real-time monitoring

A proposed bay-wide system uses sensors to monitor turbidity, contaminants such as E. coli, algae, and nitrogen. The stated goal is to feed water management decisions, conservation work, and government regulation with real-time evidence.

Open the stakeholder map

Coordination model

Save Our Bay frames coordination around a decentralized autonomous organization model using blockchain technology, voluntary participation, and incentives for shared action and transparency.

Who is expected to participate?

Participants include county governments, state agencies, conservation groups, local universities, HOAs, community groups, and individual residents. Anyone impacted by the bay is treated as part of the solution.

Alerts and public health

Public health alerts focus on PFAS exposure and Vibrio risk.

Detailed alert

Vibrio Aware

Vibrio bacteria naturally occur in warm coastal and brackish water, and that infection risks include raw shellfish consumption and open wounds exposed to seawater.

  • Watch for gastrointestinal symptoms, wound infections, or bloodstream infection.
  • Vibrio vulnificus is singled out as a flesh-eating bacteria with rapid progression.
  • Higher-risk groups include people with liver disease, cancer, diabetes, iron overload, stomach disorders, alcoholism, or weakened immune systems.
  • Prevention guidance includes avoiding raw shellfish, covering wounds, and washing exposed wounds immediately.
Read the Vibrio alert

Resource alert

PFAS in Fish

PFAS risk is treated as a core campaign issue and links out to official reports, whistleblower materials, and federal investigation requests through the documents library.

Open the PFAS page Open PFAS-related documents

Solutions and local response

Monitoring, restoration, homeowner projects, and community action work together.

The campaign combines policy advocacy with environmental technology, community engagement, and nature-based stormwater interventions.

Homeowner projects

Homeowner stormwater micro-grants

The grants page describes a system for evaluating homeowner bioswale proposals. Applications are intended to include parcel IDs, geolocation, and environmental impact details, with scoring based on pollutant removal, water absorption, and downstream estuary impact.

  • Applicants are homeowners proposing bioswale projects.
  • Notification target: 4 to 6 weeks after submission.
  • Purpose: expand green infrastructure and reduce pollution.
  • Focus: measurable environmental benefit and community involvement.

Research and reference

Go deeper into reports, investigations, and background material.

Use this library when you want the source material behind the campaign: reports, alerts, investigations, policy pages, and reference documents.

Videos and visual proof

Watch interviews, explainers, and conservation stories.

The videos and photos section features local interviews, stormwater explainers, conservation context, and a graphic photo gallery link.

Local chapters

Explore the fifteen public chapters for cities, agencies, and organizations.

These fifteen public chapter pages are the visitor-facing guides for local governments, agencies, HOAs, and partner organizations within the broader bay-wide response.

Campaign directory

Browse every major page, document hub, and chapter in one place.

Use this section when you are looking for a specific page, action link, or chapter and want the full campaign directory in one place.