In the 40 years Mark Perry has worked for clean water in Florida, he has borne witness to toxic algae blooms, fish kills and seagrass die-offs.

But this year's environmental devastation stands out — for both its duration and geographic scope.

“I’d definitely say it’s one of the worst, if not the worst," said Perry, executive director of the Stuart-based nonprofit Florida Oceanographic Society.

Low points in the year we have come to know as "Toxic 2018" included:

Red tide on all coasts

A rare confluence of red tide on all three of Florida's shorelines — the west coast, the east coast and the Panhandle — prompted some beaches to close and lifeguards to leave their posts after experiencing respiratory problems caused by the algae blooms.

The situation was deadly for marine life. An "unusual mortality event" linked to red tide caused at least 126 dolphins to be stranded on the shores of Southwest Florida, including two dozen late last month.

Hundreds of sea turtles and seabirds, and thousands of fish, also have been casualties of the unusually persistent red tide, which has been plaguing the Gulf of Mexico since fall 2017.

Red tide on the east coast caused smaller-scale fish kills — including in Vero Beach and Brevard County — that stunned residents, prompting some to call Perry's offices seeking explanation.

"What is going on?" they asked him. "How could this be happening?"

Toxic algae via Lake Okeechobee

In early July, nutrient pollution had fueled a toxic blue-green algae bloom that covered 90 percent of Lake Okeechobee. Satellite images documented the size of the bloom on Florida's biggest lake, and it looked like a festering wound. In a sense, it was.

The algae was bad news for the lake itself — and it was worse for the two rivers that serve as its relief valve: the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee. Both were on the receiving end of billions of gallons of discharged water as Lake Okeechobee swelled this summer and fall.

Those discharges led to blue-green algae blooms in both waterways. Along the St. Lucie, the algae sickened employees who work near the river and, in some places, was 10 times too toxic to touch. The algae, which is a cyanobacteria, produces toxins that are linked to neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

Blue-green algae persisted in the Caloosahatchee River as recently as last month. Citing harm to threatened species such as manatees, three environmental groups announced Wednesday they were suing three federal agencies that play a role in the lake discharges: the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service.

Human waste pollution

Last year, Hurricane Irma revealed vulnerabilities in sewage capacity in the northern Indian River Lagoon region, where some 30 million gallons of human waste were dumped in the portion of the estuary in Brevard County. The effects of that pollution, known as "brown tide," continued to plague the region's water in 2018.

Compounding the problem, an old pipe in Titusville leaked another 870,000 gallons of sewage into the Indian River Lagoon in July.

Farther south, the application of treated sewage known as biosolids in Indian River County was blamed for this year's blue-green algae on Blue Cypress Lake. Though the algae was considered "very highly toxic" to humans, the state Health Department didn't bother to put up warning signs.

Tipping point?

So acute was Florida's 2018 crisis that celebrity activist Erin Brockovich made a multiple-city stop in Florida, calling on residents to fight for clean water.

"I'm not a right/left person," Brockovich said during a visit to Stuart's waterfront in September. "I'm a right/wrong person. And so much about what's going on with water is wrong."

When we assess the big picture, there's no question: Toxic 2018 should be a tipping point for water policy in Florida.

But the prognosis for timely change in 2019 is mixed, at best.

Although Congress has authorized plans for a $1.6 billion Everglades reservoir to alleviate discharges from Lake Okeechobee to the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers, its completion remains years away.

And it won't solve the crisis in the northern lagoon or Lake Okeechobee itself.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration this month proposed weakening the Clean Water Act, which could endanger about 6 million acres of wetlands in Florida, according to reporting by the Tampa Bay Times.

Gov.-elect Ron DeSantis has everything to prove. On the campaign trail, he positioned himself as an Everglades advocate and vowed to bring tangible solutions to communities reeling from this year's toxic algae.

As his January inauguration approaches, DeSantis has assembled an environmental advisory panel to solicit input.

More: Here's what to expect from Ron DeSantis on the environment

More: Turning the Toxic Tide: Florida needs a new approach to environmental regulation

Stop-gap recovery

For his part, water watchdog Mark Perry has returned to the hard work of restoring what was lost this year. Again.

His nonprofit Florida Oceanographic Society is working to install oyster reefs in the St. Lucie River, with the hopes that the bivalves will help the river recover from this year's abuse.

Perry knows the oysters might die with the next round of discharges. It's happened before.

But, after 40 years, he's not in the habit of quitting.

“We can’t give up on the recovery aspects," Perry said. "We’ve got to help the system recover as quickly as possible.”

Eve Samples is opinion and audience engagement editor for TCPalm/Treasure Coast Newspapers, which is part of the USA TODAY Network. Contact her at eve.samples@tcpalm.com or @EveSamples on Twitter.