WATER QUALITY REPORT FOR JUNE 24, 2024
Please stick with me. This isn’t another in-summa recap of blue-green algae in Southwest Florida.
First, let me get the required out of the way. The Lee Department of Health’s water quality testing found components of blue-green algae in the Caloosahatchee River and issued yet-another health advisory; at the same time, it lifted a couple of previous warnings for the same thing in the same area. It’s been going that way all year.
I haven’t read the press release on the latest one I just heard about it in passing, but I’ll bet anyone a penny the new cyanobacteria outbreak and the departing cyanobacteria outbreaks are somewhere between the U.S. 41 Bridge and the Alva Boat Ramp, probably in a canal on the north side of the river either in Fort Myers or Cape Coral depending on exactly where it was found.
Important information to get out, indeed.
I’ve been wondering, however, how to reconcile warnings that water polluted with blue-green algae can kill livestock, dogs, and birds with the descriptions of the “outbreaks” being described as “specks” or “short green lines" and nothing dies from it
This led me to the question with no truly definitive answer, at least not one agreed upon by more than a handful of marine biologists at once. That is, can blooms of harmful algae really harm people who are not already really sick?
I’ve read the answer countless times in innumerable issues of journals like Harmful Algae, or Applied and Environmental Microbiology, or the Journal of Marine Science and Engineering – and wonder why the experts so often disagree.
Don't say graduate school isn’t good for anything, because that is how I came to understand these pretentious journals. I expected that in a mass communication program such as I attended, I would be taught how to precisely speak and write the accumulated knowledge on the subject of the day to convey it to society as a whole. That, yes, I would learn the secrets of the ancients of how, in ways both simple and brilliant at once, everyone would grasp from my missives the brilliance of a neural network or the simplicity of a high-tide chart.
No. That was not it. We were taught to read, and in so doing how to speak and write in scholarly commentaries filled with sanctimonious and obfuscating verbiage.
Which leads me back to blue-green algae and red tide.
Whether one is researching how humans communicate with various forms of media throughout history, or discovering whether algae blooms really are harmful, the same brand of higher-level storytelling is chosen. – and I still don’t understand a word of it.
That is when one turns to the paper’s “abstract” or “executive summary.” Or Google.
And in those resources is where I found it, something I had not discovered before, and this was finally something many of the scientists agreed on:
Blue-green algae and red tide components are heralding medical wonders. As in save-your-life someday medicines. I mean Big Time.
Blue-green algae's cyanobacteria possess types of little healthy things that when properly synthesized by licensed medical researchers in quality-controlled labs certified by the CDC, USDA, FDA, and EPA, (point: don’t try this at home) will improve cardiovascular and organ health, lower cholesterol and triglycerides, reduce inflammation, protect against oxidative stress, and possibility prevent cardiovascular disease and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.
Cyanobacteria contains stuff that will likely improve mental alertness, aid in weight loss, reduce symptoms of cardiac issues, and stave off bad, and I mean really bad, oral health conditions.
Those same types of doctors in that same type of lab should be able to extract essential amino acids, vitamins, minerals, and bioactive compounds each of which contributes to overall health.
Red tide’s building block Karenia brevis alone has been found to possess an anti-inflammatory property – inflammation is a significant factor in many diseases – so strong it could be a natural kick-bootie in treating chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and cystic fibrosis.
Red tide toxins, when flipped about for medical use, are showing huge promise against a bunch of serious health issues. We're talking cardiovascular disease, diabetes, autoimmune and neurodegenerative disorders, and - get this – cancer.
Without all of those disparate researchers using fancy academic language in “interdisciplinary efforts” – I found these words split among two papers’ abstracts – “one can only imagine the new and important discoveries that can be made by the HAB research community with the application of resources and interdisciplinary research activities in the future.”
Still, don’t go in water with blue-green algae, and keep your pets away, too.
I’m not done looking into that.
Now we continue with WGCU’s Water Quality Report, which will be viewed in its entirety.
RED TIDE
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission sampled for the red tide organism, Karenia brevis, and it was found nowhere around the state.
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 related to the harmful algae bloom.
Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife on Sanibel Island reports no animals died of red tide toxins this week.
BLUE-GREEN ALGAE
The Lee County Environmental Lab reported that blue-green algae components dolichospermum, microcystic, and cyanofilaments, were observed in moderately abundant concentrations at the Davis Boat Ramp as streaks. Wind-driven accumulations of many of the same were found along the seawall upstream of the Franklin Locks. Moderate amounts of the various elements of blue-green algae were also found at the Midpoint Bridge Park.
The agency reminds residents that winds and tides tend to push the components of blue-green algae around, so people in that region should be watchful for the potentially toxic bloom.
The Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation is asking the Army Corps to stop releasing polluted water from Lake Okeechobee into the Caloosahatchee River as the recent heavy rains have washed nutrient pollution in the river’s watershed and it must drain first.
Lake Okeechobee showed the presence of an algal bloom, but once again cloud cover and wind prevented the area from being determined. The previous area of the bloom measured two weeks ago covered 300 square miles of the surface of the lake, which is more than half its surface area.
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 the water where algae are 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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