WATER QUALITY REPORT FOR SEPT. 15, 2024
The fact that my predictions are usually wrong should be of comfort because I still believe we have a spate of hurricanes to come and that red tides - as in plural – will follow.
We are approaching the two-year anniversary of Hurricane Ian. If you were here then you know what it was like.
If you’ve moved to the area since you’ve noticed that we are still recovering from the hurricane that “weakened” by a few miles per hour to drop from a Category 5 to a Category 4 right before landfall on Lee County’s barrier islands.
Ian was that unfortunate Perfect Storm – massive, powerful, slow-moving, loaded with rain – that took 149 lives in Florida alone, 72 of them in Lee County.
Hurricane Ian’s whipping rains lasted for hours and, in effect, power-washed the region, rinsing all of the goo from buildings and roads, forests and farms, into the Gulf of Mexico contributing nutrients to fledgling red tide blooms common late in the summer and fall.
My prediction is not for another Hurricane Ian – second in the record books only to Hurricane Katrina in many of the worst categories – but a lesser storm in the Category 2 or 3 range, late in the season, originating in the Caribbean Sea, that will undergo rapid intensification on its path toward Southwest Florida.
The late arrival of weather conditions favorable to hurricane development, an unusually high amount of dry air aloft, more Saharan dust than usual, and tropical waves coming off the coast of Africa that are the seeds of hurricanes here have been off-track and disorganized. All of that inhibits tropical development.
My gut says those factors will fall out of play and conditions for tropical development will flip into the favorable zone. Couple that with super-heated seas packed with hurricane fuel, and we very well might make it to the 20-some named storms predicted by the major hurricane forecasting agencies.
And the presence of red tide popped up for the first time in many months off of Manatee County.
The factors needed for a steady wallop of hurricanes and fledgling red tide blooms beginning to appear are at the heart of my unfortunate prediction.
Let’s hope I’m as wrong as can be.
We now join WGCU’s Water Quality Report in its entirety to take our minds off what I just wrote.
RED TIDE
Red tides, should they appear, tend to do so in the late summer and fall. Keep your eyes – and nose and throat and lungs – attuned for the signs of the harmful algae blooms, which include dead fish along the shoreline, a runny nose, and a scratchy throat.
If red tide is present and any of those things bother you, there is nothing to do other than pick a different beach some distance away to enjoy.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission sampled statewide for the red tide organism, Karenia brevis and, as mentioned, it was found in background concentrations off Manatee County.
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.
Four birds were brought to the Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife on Sanibel Island with illnesses from exposure to red tide toxins. One died and three others, all laughing gulls, are still under care.
BLUE-GREEN ALGAE
The Lee County Environmental Lab took water samples to test for blue-green algae and found none throughout the area.
A NASA environmental satellite focused on Lake Okeechobee and the Caloosahatchee River found low to moderate bloom potential in the northwest quadrant of the lake. The river is all clear.
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.
Also, winds and tides push the components of blue-green algae around, so people in that region should be watchful for the potentially toxic bloom.
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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