The toxic algae has prompted Gov. Rick Scott to declare a state of emergency. Image: CNN
Stuart Beach is an idyllic stretch of sand on Florida’s east coast. Or it was, anyway. Now, it’s covered in a layer of toxic green slime. “Animals are in distress, some are dying, the smell is horrible,” Jordan Schwartz, owner of the Ohana Surf Shop told CNN. “You have to wear a mask in the marina and the river. It’s heartbreaking and there is no end in sight.” The toxic slime is actually a massive algae bloom driven by a combination of things, and it has gotten so bad that the Governor has declared a state of emergency in Martin, St. Lucie, Lee and Palm Beach counties.
Lake Okeechobee is Florida’s largest lake, and it serves as everything from a drinking water reservoir to a runoff repository for surrounding farmland, which includes fertilizer and septic waste. Unfortunately, the dike built around it is pretty much falling apart. It was built after a hurricane in 1928 pushed the lake over its banks and killed a few hundred people. Now, the Army Corps of Engineers uses it to keep lake water levels at a reasonable height. When levels get too high, they release some of the water into an estuary.
According to CNN, the algae bloom started in the lake and quickly spread to the surrounding beaches when the Army Corps of Engineers began releasing water full of nutrients into an estuary in their efforts to mitigate possible flooding. The algae bloom, which had almost covered the entire lake, spilled through the estuary and into the ocean.
Earthjustice, the world’s largest non-profit environmental law organization, blames state regulations. “The algae outbreaks are triggered by fertilizer sewage and manure pollution that the state has failed to properly regulate,” Earthjustice spokeswoman Alisa Coe told CNN. “It’s like adding miracle grow to the water and it triggers massive algae outbreaks.”
In Okeechobee, the toxicity is 200 times higher than what the World Health Organization deems a hazard to human health. “It smells like death on a cracker,” Cyndi Lenz, a resident of the area told the Tampa Bay Times. “Morgues don’t smell as bad.”
It’s nothing new, either–in fact, this type of thing has happened many times in the past. Never quite to this extent, though. “We’ve seen this for years and years and instead of addressing the problem, here we are on the Fourth of July weekend with a state of emergency being declared,” Coe continued. “Usually folks would be out fishing, swimming and enjoying the beach with their families. Instead, they are left with water that is too toxic to touch.”
According to Governor Rick Scott, the fault lies with how water is stored. “Florida’s waterways, wildlife and families have been severely impacted by the inaction and negligence of the federal government not making the needed repairs to the Herbert Hoover Dike and Florida can no longer afford to wait,” he said in a press release.
Coe, though, thinks there’s more to the problem. “The State wants to pretend the problem is only about water storage but it’s also a pollution issue,” she explained. “In order to really get at the problem, you’ve got to clean up the water. Anyone whose been watching the state of regulation in Florida saw this coming.”
