When you think of Florida, you probably think of alligators, hurricanes, and picturesque beaches complete with sun, sand, and sweat. You would usually not think of pea soup. But that is what our beaches have come to resemble with the infestation of a new symbol of Florida: algae.
As our summer heat wave continues, Lake Okeechobee has endured an unusually large algae bloom which has coated the freshwater lake’s surface with a thick layer of green slime. And while we are no stranger to algae here in Florida, this year’s outbreak is different. The bloom has spread into sensitive estuaries on both coasts of Florida and is now also posing a threat to our marine ecosystems.
Although this toxic sludge is commonly known as blue-green algae, it actually is not an algae at all. It is a form of bacteria, called cyanobacteria, which occurs naturally and thrives in warm and calm water -- aka Florida is the perfect breeding ground. These algae/cyanobacteria outbreaks can lead to very low levels of oxygen in the water, known as hypoxia, and can carry toxins which choke local fish, shellfish, and sea turtle populations.
The bloom is a result of decades of human interference with natural water flow patterns. Before human development, Florida rainfall would trickle slowly south from Lake Okeechobee through the Everglades which would properly filter the algae before reaching the ocean. But Florida’s developers had a different goal in mind: building cheap, suburban communities. And so they carved out hundreds of miles of canals to redirect Lake Okeechobee's runoff to the coasts, cutting it off from its natural filtration system.
Today, Lake Okeechobee is plagued with agricultural runoff from surrounding farms, resulting in high nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations which are known stimulants for algae blooms. When a large storm develops, which happens almost every day in our sunny South Florida, the excess rain water drains from Lake Okeechobee through the decades-old canals to our coasts.
In an attempt to prevent this algae diffusion, Governor Rick Scott is issuing an emergency order as of July 9th to give the state environmental and tourism agencies "more resources to respond to the blooms". In addition, the US Army Corps of Engineers has agreed to close the floodgates that direct overflow from Lake Okeechobee to the St.Lucie Canal for a few days. Ideally, this will allow the excess water to drain through the Everglades where it is naturally filtered.
But this is not enough. This is a band-aid. We should be focusing on preventing these pollutants from entering Lake Okeechobee in the first place, rather than deciding how to get rid of the polluted water after the fact. Until there are more restrictions on agricultural runoff and non-point source water pollution, we will continue to have these harmful algae blooms and threaten the ecosystems that make Florida so beautiful.
The Florida lifestyle revolves around water, from what we eat to what we do to where we work. It provides us with hydration, nutrition, amusement, and often times a paycheck. And for all the ways we use it and manipulate it, we must also respect it and be grateful for the nourishment it gives to us. We must protect it to protect ourselves.
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