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| Indian River Lagoon: This is not OK!!! |
From TCPalm:
Researchers like Dr. Brian LaPointe at the Florida Atlantic University Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute said the algae could be floating around for awhile.
"Once the problem is here it's very difficult to deal with it in this environment," said La Pointe.
Researchers said other chemicals can be dumped in the water to deal with the algae, but it could be just as harmful to the environment.
"These blooms are harmful and that's why we call them harmful algae blooms," said LaPointe.
The longer the "green goo" remains in the water, LaPointe estimates the public could start seeing more and more dead fish or plant life and more cases of people reporting injuries from being too close to the algae.
Sport fishermen like Klarmann worry the situation could impact the local economy.
"A lot of people around here depend on fishing because they're captains and run charters. They don't want to take clients out in green sludge. I wouldn't want to take a client out in green sludge," said Klarmann.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said while it is aware of the toxic algae bloom, it has no plans to stop the discharge. Engineers said water levels at Lake Okeechobee remain critically high.
The algae sometimes produces toxins that can cause a variety of health problems:
Flulike symptoms including nausea, vomiting and diarrhea if it’s swallowed.
Skin irritations, hives, blisters and rashes from skin contact through swimming or wading.
Hay fever-like symptoms such as itchy eyes, sore throat and congestion if inhaled.
Until people start raising the roof, this will just keep happening.
3 comments:
What's going on with Miami's own algae bloom- and could it turn toxic without any agency alerting the public? I heard Miami Dade County is only testing every few weeks. Was the specific cause ever identified? Long ago Miami Dade County embarked on a disaster course: deep well injection of sewage and neglecting to repair existing sewage system to the point there are periodic and catastrophic sewage spills into our waterways, including Biscayne Bay. This is coming back to haunt us now. Once the Bay and beaches are sullied and contaminated and overtaken by pollution and algae outbreaks, our tourism economy and real estate development will be at risk. By the time this happens, it will be too late to fix it. And all we will have is the debt the Marlins stadium and Heat arena.
The Fanjuls rock!
I stopped by Indian River Lagoon in early July. The water was brown. Oysters on the pilings were just flapping open and closed in time to the waves - because they were dead. SURE we can regulate our water standards better than the EPA. You can thank the Fanjuls and the Legislature for that crime.
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