https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/08/02/pollution-policies-toxic-algae-red-tide-cyanobacteria-florida-lake-okeechobee
[images and links in on-line article]
Fueled by Pollution and Unsound Policies, Toxic Algae Overtake Florida
Beaches
By Julie Dermansky DeSmogBlog
Published August 2, 2018
Florida is in the midst of a still-unfolding water pollution
catastrophe. Many formerly picture-perfect beaches and posh waterfront
neighborhoods are now surreal toxic landscapes where the smell is so
pungent, it can make you nauseous.
Parts of South Florida are being inundated by harmful algal blooms,
which affect both public health and marine life, including red tide
(caused by the alga Karenia brevis) and blue-green algae (more precisely
known as cyanobacteria, or Microcystis, which are technically bacteria
but commonly referred to as algae).
While both types of toxin-producing algae are normal parts of their
environments, the crisis is not. Water pollution and climate change are
fueling this supersized toxic algae mess.
The state’s water quality standards, friendly toward agriculture and
real estate development, result in the release of an abundance of
nutrients including phosphorus and nitrogen into the water. This influx
of growth-inducing nutrients causes marine and freshwater algae
populations to explode in what’s called a “bloom.” These blooms can use
up much of the oxygen in the water, causing aquatic life to die, in
addition to the potentially fatal toxins these algae release.
Storm run-off from agricultural and urban landscapes, laden with
fertilizers and animal manure, and badly maintained septic systems
contribute to the current crisis. On top of this, massive releases of
polluted freshwater, laden with cyanobacteria, from Lake Okeechobee are
ending up on both of the state’s coasts. And when the freshwater
cyanobacteria hit the saltwater, they die, creating even more nutrients
that feed the red tide.
Toward the end of July, I went to Southern Florida to document the
ongoing environmental disaster. I walked Gulf Coast beaches littered
with dead fish and sea turtles. Red tide is impacting the coast from
Sarasota to Marco Island. I also visited the cyanobacteria-filled canals
in Cape Coral before heading to the east to the city of Stuart, a
popular tourist destination on Florida’s Treasure Coast.
Moving to Paradise?
Jim and Sally Mullins, who live in Cape Coral, agreed to let me
photograph their portrait on their boat ramp as long as I did it quickly
― cyanobacteria filled the canal. They bought their home there 10 years
ago, and permanently relocated from Connecticut last year. But they
regret it. The stench outside their home is unbearable, and they are
considering moving elsewhere because of possible health implications.
The short-term health impacts of direct exposure to harmful algal
blooms, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), include
abdominal pain, headache, sore throat, vomiting and nausea, dry cough,
diarrhea, blistering around the mouth, and pneumonia.
The long-term effects are still unknown. Some scientists studying
cyanobacteria suggest it could bring on a mysterious disease similar to
Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Some of the same scientists also are
investigating if the neurotoxin BMAA, produced by cyanobacteria, is the
direct cause for the rise in cases of ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) and
Alzheimer’s.
Juergen Kreuzer, a charter boat captain who relocated from Germany to
Cape Coral, is also questioning his decision to move there. Most of his
clients are canceling their trips, and those who don’t can no longer
meet him at his boat launch because he says it smells like a “sewer
filled with dead things.”
A Global Problem Made Worse in Florida
Crossing the state, I drove along the southern banks of Lake Okeechobee,
stopping at locks in Canal Point in Palm Beach County, where I found an
endless stream of algae-laden water being released. At Port Mayaca in
Martin County, I watched green waves crash along the lake’s banks.
Toxic algal blooms are not unique to Florida. They have become
problematic in other parts of the world as temperatures rise and water
pollution worsens. In Toledo, Ohio, a bloom in Lake Erie caused a tap
water ban in nearby towns in 2014; the next year, the coast of Qingdao
in China was hit with an algae bloom.
Unique to Florida’s toxic algae problem are water releases from Lake
Okeechobee, the country’s second largest freshwater lake, which sits
north of the Everglades, between the Gulf Coast and the Atlantic. At
times this summer, 90 percent of the lake’s surface was covered with the
toxic algae. The shallow lake is an ideal breeding ground for toxic
algae blooms because they feed off the nutrients in water pollution from
dairy farms, beef operations, and vegetable row crops to the north, and
industrial-sized sugar-cane fields to the south.
Lake Okeechobee’s water level is controlled by the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers. When the water level gets too high, as it did in late May
this year, the Corps releases water to the east and west to prevent
flooding. The toxic algae-filled water is released into the
Caloosahatchee River leading west to Fort Myers, and into the St. Lucie
River heading east to Stuart.
The release of billions of gallons of water was paused briefly after
public outcry, when canals in Fort Myers and Cape Coral were inundated
with green slime in June. The canals in Stuart are also being affected,
but the impacts on the east coast came later and have not been as
widespread as on the west coast.
Though heavy rainfall from Hurricane Irma last fall and above-average
rainfall this spring made it imperative for the Corps to act to avoid
flooding, those living near the polluted water and algae infestations
don’t think the government is doing enough to protect them from the
toxic brew filling their canals.
Stuck Between a Lake and a Hard Place
Since I left Florida, the crisis has gotten worse. There is no quick fix
for the problem, a point clearly made at a July 31 pubic meeting held by
the Corps about the water levels of Lake Okeechobee.
Lt. Col. Jennifer Reynolds, a deputy district engineer for the Corps,
addressed and took questions from a crowd of more than 300. She
explained that when the lake’s water level approaches 15 feet above sea
level, the Corps must release water. A major rain storm could lead to
catastrophic flooding and the loss of lives and property.
When it comes to pollution in the lake, she said: “The state is
responsible for setting and maintaining the water quality standards.”
After being asked if cutting off the flow of nutrients into the lake
would solve the problem, Reynolds responded, “Absolutely. The best way
for us to curb algae growth is to get rid of the nutrients in the water.”
As for a fix to the South Florida algae crisis, Reynolds explained that
the federal and state governments are working on building a watershed
south of the lake to hold additional water. That would mean less of Lake
Okeechobee’s water, and its toxic cyanobacteria, would need to be
released to the east and west. She said that there are dozens of other
projects requiring billions in funding in the years ahead. But none of
them are quick fixes. Some are being planned through 2030 and beyond.
In the short term, Reynolds called for reducing the flow of nutrients
into the lake, but regulating water quality standards in Florida has
been an uphill battle. Earthjustice sued the EPA on behalf of several
state and national environmental groups, to force measurable pollution
limits in 2008. As part of a settlement in 2009, the EPA agreed to set
enforceable, legal limits on the pollution that generates toxic slime in
Florida’s waterways, but the standards were rescinded before they were
implemented, after the state challenged the EPA’s decree.
Voting for Clean Water
The Florida residents I spoke to are all paying close attention to
candidates’ stances on the toxic algae crisis. And the non-partisan
group bullsugar.org, which advocates for clean water, is looking to make
the upcoming elections about a single issue: clean water.
Many advocates for clean water, including Calusa Waterkeeper’s John
Cassani, point to the overall failure of the state’s water management
system and a lack of water pollution standards as major factors creating
the nightmarish landscapes: beaches littered with dead fish and canals
lined with fancy homes and boats,that are socked in by thick layers of
florescent green and blue algae.
Republican Gov. Rick Scott is challenging Democratic Senator Bill Nelson
for one of Florida’s Senate seats this fall. Though Scott declared a
state of emergency over the algae bloom, which allows the federal
government to fast-track the fortification of a dike protecting Lake
Okeechobee, he has played a role in weakening regulations that protect
water. He also severely cut the state’s environmental regulatory agency
by slashing the agency’s staff and budget and tapped industry-friendly
people to run it.
Capt. Shannon Hoeckel of Boca Grande, an island in the Gulf with
exclusive beaches and a world-renowned fishing spot, is warning his
clients not to come and is returning their deposits, though it hurts his
business. He said it is the moral thing to do: “You can’t let people
come visit ― especially not children.”
He plans to vote for whoever he thinks will best protect the water.