Calusa Waterkeeper discusses causes, possible solutions for Southwest Florida’s water woes
Having experienced a summer wrought with blue-green algae and red tide, residents across Southwest Florida are keeping their fingers crossed that another historic season of horrific harmful algal blooms is not looming.
The Calusa Waterkeeper, John Cassani, gave a PowerPoint presentation at the Cape Coral Library Monday afternoon, hosted by the League of Women Voters of Lee County Environmental Committee, to address what causes these events and how experts and residents alike can hope to present change in an area combating climate change and population growth.
One of, if not the biggest contributor to the deterioration of Florida waterbodies, are nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus that enter waterways via runoff.
“Well, I think funding to enable the existing level of regulation so that it’s effective is a big part of it – and the governor has done that, in terms of laying it out for the Legislature to fund it. So, the blueprints there, it’s just up to the Legislature now to make it happen,” Cassani said.
This growing nutrient problem is not exclusive to Southwest Florida, as many communities around the world with extensive bodies of water are feeling the effects of harmful algal blooms.
Lake Erie, for example, is facing a similar issue to that of Lake Okeechobee.
“The more urban the land use, the more runoff of nutrients,” said Cassani.
In Florida, the six largest harmful algal booms since 1990 have happened in the last seven years.
Last year’s events saw seven counties in Florida call for a state of emergency.
Cassani said we are currently in our 16th month of red tide and counting.
Other than nutrient laden waters, contributing factors to these blooms include climate change, record rain falls and population growth, he said.
“Extreme rainfall causes extreme problems – driving runoff into water bodies,” Cassani said.
Combine that with the loss of “treatment wetlands,” that act as a filter of sorts, we see what is called cyanobacteria, thrive.
Rising water levels during what would be typically called the “dry” season, can create releases of water from Lake Okeechobee to the Caloosahatchee, bringing the green slime into the hundreds of miles of canals in Cape Coral.
“I think the most bang for the buck and the most immediate approach would be to revise the lake regulation schedule, I think that would be the best approach,” said Cassani. “That’s going to control when the water’s released, under what circumstances, in relationship to the lake level. The purpose there is to bring more balance back to the schedule – so it’s not all about flood control and water supply to the south.
“It seems like every time we have an extreme event, one way or the other – following a drought, or with a hurricane-related event, then we see a harmful algal bloom.”
At one point this summer, 90 percent of Lake O was covered in cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae.
Water flowing from the north into Lake O is a big contributor to the algae blooms as well, said Cassani.
Cyanobacteria is a type of algae naturally present in freshwater environments. It is a microorganism that functions similarly to plants in that is feeds through photosynthesis and obtains energy from the sun.
A contributing factor to algal bloom can be increases in nutrients that amplify the extent, duration and intensity of these blooms.
Other factors can include warm temperatures, reduced water flow and lack of animals that eat algae.
The summer and fall seasons can procure this kind of algae in Florida waters. High temperatures and lots of sunlight, combined with runoff from almost daily rains can bring nutrients into waterways and provide the perfect conditions for blooms.
According to the Florida Department of Health, some blue-green algae produce chemicals called cyanotoxins. In high concentrations, these toxins can affect the liver, nervous system and skin.
“The thing with public heath risk, is that it needs to be coordinated at the state level,” Cassani said. “You cant have 67 different county regulations for public health risk, it has to occur at the state level, as other states are doing. Ohio, Oregon, Maryland – they all have good numeric criteria for responding. But I think it needs to be done at the state level.”
Of the “threshold” that has been set for clean water, Cassani said that he saw levels of toxicity 9,000 times over the “risk-level.”
Very little testing has been done about the dangers of air intake for residents living close to infested bodies of water.
The highest risks of contamination occur from ingesting harmful water, mostly during recreational activities.
This past summer was also a devastating one for Florida’s sea life.
Cassani called it, “The worst year for mortality in sea life in Florida’s history.”
He said a big reason for this, other than marine life ingesting toxins, was hypoxia.
Hypoxia is a lack of oxygen supply, and wide “dead zones” off of Florida shorelines resulted in mass mortality of eels, crabs, burrowing fish and other bottom-dwelling species.
Cassani noted that he believes Gov. Ron DeSantis is on the right track to bringing forward the legislation and funds needed to help the remediation process of our water.
“I think the governor’s blueprint is a pretty good one,” he said. “You’re going to have to fund it to get the kind of compliance and enforcement that’s necessary. And you have to accelerate restoration – (currently) we’re adding impaired water bodies quicker than we’re restoring them and that can’t continue that way, it’s not sustainable.”
DeSantis recently called for an additional $2.5 billion for Everglades restoration and water resources.
The Calusa Waterkeeper is one of 11 “waterkeepers” in Florida.
They look after Lake O, the Caloosahatchee and Greater Charlotte Harbor – nearly 1,000 miles of water in Southwest Florida.
For more information, including becoming a part of their “Ranger” program, visit www.calusawaterkeeper.org.
-Connect with this reporter on Twitter: @haddad_cj