State water managers have set aside $4.1 million for Florida Gulf Coast University and two other schools to study water quality and related issues over the next three years.

"It's really just taking it one step further and formalizing the relationship (with the South Florida Water Management District)," said Darren Rumbold, a marine sciences professor at FGCU. "We need to bring these funds in to help support our students and our research."

District governing board members met and approved the item Thursday.

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The money will come from a larger $55 million program aimed at reducing pollution between Lake Okeechobee and Everglades National Park.

One aspect of the program is to study stormwater treatment areas, or STAs, man-made marshes that filter nutrients out of the water.

The program is aimed at better understanding how different vegetation and natural removal methods clean waters from Lake Okeechobee, which are laden with excess nutrients from farms near and north of the lake.

It's also focused on better understanding hydrology and sedimentation in the historic Everglades ecosystem, which stretches from just south of Orlando to the Florida Keys.

"It's not just nutrients in the STAs, it could be hydrology and assisting them with report writing," Rumbold said. "We just demonstrated we had the expertise to supply their needs."

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District officials say they need researchers from the three schools to conduct work in various fields. That information will help the district make water decisions and better manage the system.

"We look at operational plans and water and phosphorus budgets and mechanisms that remove phosphorus from the system, which plants remove that best, and other ways we can operate," said Susan Gray, who works on the program for the district. "We need the help. Our ability to collaborate with outside scientists is paramount in us getting the best science."

Nutrients' effects on water quality have drawn more interest in Florida in recent years as algae blooms have affected many areas of the state.

A nutrient-fed algae bloom was severe in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers area last year, with mats of toxic gunk floating in local canals for months.

The bloom started in June on Lake Okeechobee and quickly spread to the Caloosahatchee River.

Many residents living near the blooms were concerned about health effects, and the local tourism and real estate industries were crippled.

Then-Gov. Rick Scott issued a state of emergency for Lee and a handful of other counties affected by the bloom.

The Army Corps of Engineers controls Lake Okeechobee levels and discharges, and officers with the Corps have said they expect another algae bloom on the lake this year.

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Rumbold said the agreement with the district will help elevate the school from a water quality perspective.

"This is one of the first times that we've gone in to broaden the scope of our relationship (with the district)," Rumbold said. "We want to help addresses issues here and in the freshwater Everglades."

FGCU demonstrated expertise with hydrology, water quality, regulatory permits and other facts of water quality and quantity, Gray said.

The University of Florida and Florida International University also will be part of the program.

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The contracts are expected to last three years with two, one-year renewals possible.

"This is a good contract to bring in some of the science reports and technical reports that were needed by the agency," Gray said.

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