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W water is pumped to the same location, mixed with the Brine and then moves through a series of ponds, runnels, restored wetlands more runnels and natural wetlands and eventually, after removing significant amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus, returns to the Lagoon. The Spoonbill Marsh has been operating for just over six years and, given its purpose, can be considered a great success. It is clear to anyone who has visited the site that there has been a marked increase in both birds and marine life and regular testing documents the removal of significant amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus. In the twelve months corresponding to the County's 2015-2016 Fiscal Year, over 13,000 pounds of nitrogen and more than 2,300 pounds of phosphorus were removed from nitrogen and phosphorus laden waters, which, but for the Spoonbill Marsh, would now be polluting the Indian River Lagoon. I am proud of the work that the County has done at Spoonbill Marsh. It is a cutting edge environmental project that everyone in the'County can be proud of. Is it a perfect project? No. Is it polluting the Lagoon? No. Is it a step to restoring the Lagoon to better health? Yes, it most certainly is. On with our story. On the evening of Friday, August 19, 1 received a somewhat frantic phone call from a supporter telling me about a disturbing story about the Spoonbill Marsh that was running in Marc Schumann's blog, Inside Vero. The Inside Vero blog begins with a picture of one of my campaign mailers, which touts the benefits of the Spoonbill Marsh. The first paragraph states: "County Commissioner Bob Solari, who is running for re-election, has made the effectiveness of Spoonbill Marsh an issue in his campaign..." Schumann then wrongly calls the�Spoonbill Marsh a "wastewater treatment facility". The bulk of the blog consists of an email sent on August 18, 2016 from Barry Shapiro. The email is, quite frankly, bizarre. It talks a meeting that Shapiro is "asked not to tell anyone about". The meeting was attended by people whose names he cannot disclose. It talks about a report written by someone whose name cannot be revealed. The report evidently says that the Spoonbill Marsh is bad, but the report is not attached to the email.