1 in 4 Florida waterways dangerously polluted, report finds

Why it matters: The Times investigation put into focus just how bad the problem is.

What they did: Times reporters Zachary T. Sampson, Bethany Barnes and Shreya Vuttaluru spent more than a year analyzing millions of water sampling results, interviewing more than 140 people and untangling the state's pollution regulations.

What they found: Nearly a quarter of Florida's waterways are contaminated by alarming levels of nitrogen or phosphorous, or have signs of chemical imbalances.

• More than half of those waterways are getting worse or haven't gotten better.
• The pollution causes algae blooms that wreak havoc on the environment, destroying the habitats of wildlife like manatees and dolphins.

State of play: In Part 2 of the series, which dropped last week, the newspaper revealed how state leaders have repeatedly protected the industries that contribute most to water pollution: agriculture and development.

• Part 1, which published earlier this year, explored the root cause behind the mass starvation of manatees in the Indian River Lagoon.

Stunning stat: The Times found that, over about two decades, "builders transformed more than 550,000 acres into roadways, master-planned communities and shopping plazas — equivalent to developing an area the size of West Palm Beach every year."

Zoom in: As for my beloved springs, nearly three-quarters of those looked at by the Times have rising levels of nitrate-nitrite pollution, per the report, which comes from fertilizer and waste, both animal and human.

• "It's getting worse almost everywhere," Robert Knight, board president of the nonprofit Howard T. Odum Florida Springs Institute, told the paper.
• "These springs are dying."

The bottom line: The series paints an alarming picture of a state failing to protect what makes Florida so special.

Worthy of your time: Explore the full series here, a map of polluted waterways here and a summary of the paper's takeaways here.