A $4.1 million taxpayer-funded dredging project along with Weeki Wachee River in Hernando County could have been avoided if state officials better enforced rules on the water, a local environmentalist said. "It's public land and $4.1 million of our taxpayer dollars are restoring this public land and there's been a way identified to protect it and we need to do it,” river advocate Shannon Turbeville said. This month, the Southwest Florida Water Management District is overseeing a dredging project along the river, outside of the Weeki Wachee Springs State Park boundaries. Crews will use machinery on the river’s bottom to suck out harmful sand and sediment. MORE: https://bit.ly/3pN6pUX ►Subscribe: https://on.wtsp.com/youtube ►Website: https://www.wtsp.com/ ►Facebook: https://facebook.com/10TampaBay ►Twitter: https://twitter.com/10TampaBay