Biscayne Bay Waterkeeper Inc

What it reported doing in 2024

Clean water is what makes miami, miami. Biscayne bay is a vital part of miami-dade's environment and economy. Stretching from haulover inlet to key largo, its shallow waters provide critical habitat for seagrass and marine life, including important recreational and commercial fisheries. The bay forms part of the intracoastal waterway and is protected through biscayne national park and the biscayne bay aquatic preserves, highlighting its ecological significance. Beyond its natural value, biscayne bay plays a major role in the local economy. A 2023 study found that it contributes 64 billion annually, supporting tourism, recreation, and businesses that rely on clean water (hazen and sawyer, "biscayne bay economic study update," sept. 15, 2023). However, increasing pollution, habitat loss, and sea level rise threats put the bay and its fisheries at risk. At miami waterkeeper, we envision a resilient south Florida that is a global leader in clean water solutions, where thriving communities and nature coexist. To achieve this vision, we work toward our mission of protecting south Florida's waters by advocating for resilient solutions grounded in science, rooted in nature, and driven by community. Focusing on clean water, habitat protection, and sea level rise resilience, we implement a multidisciplinary approach that includes science and research, advocacy, and education and outreach. From wetlands to reefs, courtrooms to classrooms, we're protecting the water and what makes south Florida unique. Science our work always starts with a strong foundation rooted in science. We analyze existing research and lead large-scale, collaborative research projects to fill in knowledge gaps. Water quality monitoring: every week, our team of dedicated water quality technicians test over 25 popular waterfront sites throughout miami-dade and broward counties. Along with checking bacteria levels, we measure environmental conditions like temperature, salinity and turbidity. We report all our findings on social media, our website and the easy-to-use swim guide app. This helps you know whether your favorite beaches and waterways are safe to enjoy. Community pollution report leads to reduction of chemical spraying in our waterways: thanks to a community pollution report, which we collected through our 1,000 eyes on the water program (described below), we became aware of the county's long-standing practice of spraying waterways with herbicides to control the algae growth fueled by septic tanks, stormwater, and fertilizer runoff. This type of chemical control keeps the algae in the water and adds the chemicals on top of it, leading to even worse water quality - both in our canals and biscayne bay. For years, we worked with miami-dade county to end canal spraying and switch to mechanical harvesting. In january 2024, with the support of miami-dade county mayor daniella levine cava, the county finally made the switch in 80% of their canals. We're thrilled with this outcome and will continue working to improve the overall sustainability of our community's canal management practices. Advocacy backed by science, we develop policy solutions that solve problems facing our community. We take a grassroots-to-grasstops approach, engaging the public while working with elected officials and the government. Our policy takes three primary forms: legislation, litigation, and advocacy. Protecting wildlife: nassau grouper populations have been dwindling for decades due to coastal development, pollution, and rising ocean temperatures. Species with federally protected habitats are twice as likely to recover, but the national marine fisheries service (nmfs) had failed to meet deadlines to designate critical habitat for this threatened species. In 2020, we joined the center for biological diversity and wildearth guardians in a lawsuit to hold the nmfs accountable. This was strategic, as the nassau grouper is a keystone species whose presence is linked to healthy reef ecosystems

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 61.2%; rating input score 61
• Program expense ratio: 70.1%; rating input score 70
• Fundraising efficiency: $5.26 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
  • Compensation committee: Missing
  • Independent consultant: Missing
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
  • Written employment contract: Pass
  • Compensation survey or study: Missing
  • Board or committee approval: Pass
• Foreign activity oversight: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: Limited
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
  • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 13.3%; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.06; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.24; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 20.9%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 33.6% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 29.4% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 27.5% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings