WATER QUALITY REPORT FOR APRIL 7, 2024
During the last two months, there has been a lot of community discussion about releasing billions of gallons of polluted water from Lake Okeechobee down the Caloosahatchee River.
Much of the controversy surrounds the Army Corps’ decisions when to release how much water from Lake Okeechobee, and while opinions vary on that, there is no disagreement that the spillways into the river must be opened to lower the lake level.
That is a certain going into a hurricane season like this one with the hair-raising forecasts of a tropical season so active we’ll probably run out of names and have to start with “Alpha, Beta, Delta …” If the forecasts come true, one of the storms will probably rip off that blue tarp you still have over the roof from the damage caused by Hurricane Ian.
No, the controversy these days is over whether the water should be released quickly, or slowly, and during which part of the year because releasing it one way threatens the growth of seagrasses. A different tactic threatens the oyster population. Or the timing aggravates blue-green algae or red tide outbreaks.
Today, environmental groups largely blame the Army Corps, which decides when to open the spillways, for leaving the water level too high for too long.
The Army Corps has blamed the tricky weather in recent months for pushing the agency slowly but surely into a corner, which forced the decision to make the heavy-duty releases to protect the integrity of the Herbert Hoover Dike around Lake O.
I blame Hamilton Disston.
Disston, a wealthy industrialist from Philadelphia, had purchased four million acres of Florida’s submerged and overflowed lands – today known as the Florida Everglades – to drain it on an industrial scale to get at the rich soil beneath.
Then he would make a killing selling the land with the Grade A soil to farmers and head back up north a wealthier man.
This was one of the earliest large-scale attempts at modifying Florida's natural water systems.
Disston chose Fort Myers as the base for his dredging efforts on the Caloosahatchee River. That enticed more people to move here and the population of Fort Myers swelled, which precipitated an economic boom.
Except for Disston, who wasn’t very good at Everglades-draining. He ended up selling his investments for pennies on the dollar and returned to Philadelphia.
Disston’s semi-successful work almost connecting the Caloosahatchee River to Lake Okeechobee is the catalyst for all the bickering going on today over releases from the lake into the river. That, and a small problem with Big Agriculture, but that part is for a future missive in this space.
Enter the Army Corps of Engineers, who completed Disston’s work by connecting the river to the lake, by digging a canal through a waterfall, swamps, and a few smaller lakes west of Lake O.
The Army Corps also straightened the Caloosahatchee with near-military precision and made it part of the Cross Florida Barge Canal.
Now Army Corps Col. James Booth has the final say on when water is released from the lake into the river, and how much for how long. And Booth has to deal with the competing interests that, trust me, communicate with him on a very regular basis.
“While there's a lot of appreciation for the way Army Corps has managed this complex situation, it's crucial to address the underlying issues causing the problem,” the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation wrote while weighing in on the issue online. “It's not just about managing water levels, but about revisiting our past decisions and looking for ways to restore the river's health.”
That can only happen when the very well-intentioned environmental groups with very different opinions on how to handle the discharges find common ground, work through their competing interests, and play nice with the Army Corps.
RED TIDE
Perhaps I'm still "red-tide shocked" by the constant outbreaks of Karenia brevis post-Hurricane Ian, so I still enjoy reporting that nowhere in South Florida have scientists detected red tide this week.
The red tide organism, K. brevis, was not observed in samples collected statewide over the past week, nor by special algae-bloom-seeing satellites.
No reports of fish kills suspected to be related to red tide were received over the past week.
Nor was there any respiratory irritation reported in Florida over the past week - at least not any related to red tide.
Yay.
.
BLUE-GREEN ALGAE
The story with the potentially smelly and slimy, harmful algae bloom is a little different, but far from anything worse the region has experienced at times during the last decade.
The health department issued a blue-green algae alert due to blue-green algae blooms in the Southeast 23rd Street canal and along Southeast 11th Place in February. Earlier this week there were two more from the waters around the Alva and Davis boat ramps.
The FDEP says it is important to remember the blue-green algae potential is subject to change due to rapidly changing environmental conditions or satellite inconsistencies.
What is red tide?
Red tide is one type of harmful algal bloom caused by high concentrations of the toxic dinoflagellate K. brevis, which is a type of microscopic algae found in the Gulf of Mexico.
Red tide typically forms naturally offshore, commonly in late summer or early fall, and is carried into coastal waters by winds and currents. Once inshore, these opportunistic organisms can use nearshore nutrient sources to fuel their growth.
Blooms typically last into winter or spring, but in some cases, can endure for more than one year.
Is red tide harmful?
K. brevis produces potent neurotoxins that can be harmful to the health of both wildlife and people. Wind and wave action can break open K. brevis cells and release toxins into the air. This is why you should monitor conditions and stay away from beaches where red tide is in bloom.
People in coastal areas can experience varying degrees of eye, nose and throat irritation during a red tide bloom. Some individuals with chronic respiratory conditions like asthma or chronic lung disease might experience more severe symptoms.
Red tide toxins can also affect the central nervous system of fish and other marine life, which can lead to fish kills.
What causes red tide?
A red tide bloom develops naturally, but recent studies have discovered mankind's infusion of other nutrients into the mix can make the red tide last longer or get stronger. But biology (the organisms), chemistry (natural or man-made nutrients for growth) and physics (concentrating and transport mechanisms) interact to produce the algal bloom. No one factor causes the development of a red tide bloom.
What is blue-green algae?
Blue-green algae, also known as cyanobacteria, are a group of organisms that can live in freshwater, saltwater or brackish water.
Large concentrations, called blooms, can change the water color to blue, green, brown, orange or red. Some cyanobacterial blooms can look like foam, scum, or mats on the surface of freshwater lakes and ponds. As algae in a cyanobacterial bloom die, the water may smell like something with a naturally unpleasant odor has now started to rot, too.
Is blue-green algae harmful?
Different types of blue-green algal bloom species can look different and have different impacts. However, regardless of species, many types of blue-green algae can produce toxins that can make you or your pets sick if swallowed or possibly cause skin and eye irritation.
The FDEP advises staying out of water where algae is visibly present as specks or mats or where water is discolored. Pets or livestock should not come into contact with algal bloom-impacted water or with algal bloom material or fish on the shoreline. If they do, wash the animals right away.
What causes blue-green algae?
Blue-green algae blooms occur when the algae that are typically present grow in numbers more than normal. Within a few days, a bloom can cause clear water to become cloudy.
Winds tend to push the floating blooms to the shore where they become more noticeable. Cyanobacterial blooms can form in warm, slow-moving waters that are rich in nutrients. Blooms can occur at any time, but most often occur in late summer or early fall.
If any major type of water quality alert is issued, you can find the details here in WGCU’s Water Quality Report.
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