Toxic Algae Archives - Friends of the Everglades

Join our live conversation on the fight against blue-green algae

Blue-green algae. It’s a danger to human health. It smells horrendous. It’s bad for business, for real estate values and for essential tourism dollars that drive the state of Florida’s clean-water economy. So what are we doing about it? More importantly, are we doing enough? In 2019, Gov. Ron DeSantis created the Blue-Green Algae Task Force to address this threat. He appointed some of the best-qualified scientists in the state to serve on it. Yet, three years later, many of the task force’s sound recommendations have been ignored by Florida’s elected leaders. No, we’re not doing nearly enough. Join Friends of the Everglades on July 27 as we talk with environmental policy experts about the lack of follow-through, and the [...]

Allie Preston2022-07-14T09:10:48-04:00July 14th, 2022|Clean Water Conversations, Human Health and Safety, Toxic Algae|

Everglades Illustrated: Eye on Toxic-Algae Season

It's summer in Florida, AKA toxic-algae season. Around the world, regional shifts in temperature and weather mark the start of fall and winter, spring and summer. But here in Florida, visitors and residents have become accustomed to another season that coincides with heavy rains and longer, hotter days of summer: toxic-algae season. In the satellite image above from National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, a neon green mass accumulates in the northwest portion of Lake Okeechobee, spanning the western shoreline in a bloom that covers 160 square miles. If you’ve lived in Florida long, or have followed the news in recent years, the image evokes a familiar wariness that has become common across the sunshine state from mid-May to mid-October, [...]

Allie Preston2022-06-14T10:24:20-04:00June 14th, 2022|Big Sugar, Everglades Illustrated, Toxic Algae|

Old Laws and New Health Threats

On February 1, 2022, environmentalist Maggy Hurchalla gave a presentation at The Edward and Bonnie Foreman Environmental Diversity Lecture Series at Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport, FL. The presentation, outlined in full below, discusses the frightening impacts of cyanobacteria as a world-wide problem and the challenges faced by the state and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as they work to implement the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan amid this new public health threat. Old Laws and New Health Threats By Maggy Hurchalla I’m going to talk to you today about water law and water reality in a warming world and the real or imaginary conflicts that now exist. We didn’t have any water law in Florida until 1973. The [...]

Allie Preston2022-02-07T12:48:53-05:00February 7th, 2022|All Posts, Human Health and Safety, Lake Okeechobee, Toxic Algae|

Documenting the discharges by plane – 9-24-21

Our partners at LightHawk have continued to fly surveillance flights over Lake Okeechobee regularly to help us keep an eye on the toxic algae activity within the lake. On Wednesday, pilot Howard Greenberg sent us footage from his latest flight. In the video, evidence of persisting algae blooms appears slight, but recent satellite images confirm that there's still good reason to keep our monitoring going. This summer the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee have enjoyed a much-needed reprieve from toxic Lake Okeechobee discharges — a change that communities on either coasts have been grateful for. But a big storm this time of year could still make releases to the estuaries a reality — and the Army Corps has their eyes on [...]

Allie Preston2021-09-24T14:32:14-04:00September 24th, 2021|All Posts, Lake Okeechobee, Toxic Algae|

VIDEO: What’s going on with red tide?

We have a system that helps us identify impaired water bodies. We have established targets for necessary pollution reduction to bring water bodies back to health. But the state of Florida is failing to crack down on polluters by adequately enforcing these rules. The results are catastrophic. Just look to the prolonged red tide event happening right now on the west coast for proof. We'd like to extend a big thanks to Jacki Lopez of Center for Biological Diversity, Justin Bloom of Suncoast Waterkeeper, and our own Gil Smart for sharing their insight and knowledge with us as we talked red tide during today's Clean Water Conversation. If you missed the event today, you can find the full recording below. And as recommended during [...]

Allie Preston2021-08-25T14:01:45-04:00August 25th, 2021|All Posts, Clean Water Conversations, Toxic Algae, Wildlife Habitat|

Documenting the discharges by plane — 7-23-21

https://youtu.be/bOzIao3lH2M Our partners at LightHawk are helping us keep a close eye on the toxic algae crisis in Lake Okeechobee. This past Friday, pilot John Kusianovich flew a route along the northwest shoreline of the lake. The video above captures the back half of the trip, following the flight path seen in the image below. By John's account, the flight which included a 360 where the Kissimmee river enters the lake, didn't yield too many views of algae on the surface "aside from some patches here and there." The latest NOAA satellite imagery estimating an active bloom that was roughly 260 square miles as of yesterday, is a good reminder that algae can be present even when it's not visible. [...]

Allie Preston2021-07-26T16:44:53-04:00July 26th, 2021|Toxic Algae|

VIDEO: The latest on Florida’s toxic algae crisis

With toxic algae yet again plaguing Florida's water, residents are still left vulnerable due to inadequate warnings about the health impacts of exposure and retroactive "solutions" that focus more on temporary clean up than tackling the issue at its root cause. Today's Clean Water Conversation delved into the details of this worsening crisis. We heard input from Florida Gulf Coast University algae scientist Dr. Barry Rosen, Lake Worth Waterkeeper Reinaldo Diaz, and Stuart resident Becky Harris on the toxins in our water, the threats they pose to people and our pets, and how you can become an advocate for change. If you missed the conversation today, you can find the full recording below. https://youtu.be/1sI0f0DylFs Today's Clean Water Conversation was brought [...]

Allie Preston2021-06-25T16:38:49-04:00June 25th, 2021|All Posts, Clean Water Conversations, Toxic Algae|

Documenting the Discharges by Plane – 6-23-21

https://youtu.be/__nRmI93UCc The toxic algae crisis in Lake Okeechobee is worse than it was the last time our partners at LightHawk shared a flyover with us. Pilot Howard Greenberg captured video on June 23 of a festering bloom piled up at the gates of Port Mayaca and streaked through the open waters of Lake Okeechobee just beyond that. That's bad news for Florida residents that are already on edge after recent reports of a dog that died after ingesting toxic algae and more than 120,000 residents in Palm Beach County were warned not to drink their tap water, which was contaminated with toxins caused by blue-green algae. As we continue to document the visible changes by air, be sure to keep [...]

Allie Preston2021-06-24T17:04:18-04:00June 24th, 2021|All Posts, Lake Okeechobee, Toxic Algae|

Is This Florida’s Flint?

Toxic algae in West Palm Beach drinking water raises crisis to a new level Florida is in the midst of a toxic-algae crisis. And communities that rely on water from West Palm Beach are the latest victims. On May 28, city officials warned more than 120,000 residents of West Palm Beach, Palm Beach and South Palm Beach not to drink their tap water, which was contaminated with toxins caused by blue-green algae. This is the poison Friends of the Everglades and Bullsugar.org have been warning about for years — and calling on government leaders to fix. But, time and again, polluters get preferential treatment over Floridians. Now, the poison is in drinking water. The toxin cylindrospermopsin can cause upset stomach, [...]

Allie Preston2021-06-09T08:41:50-04:00June 9th, 2021|LOSOM, Toxic Algae|

Stakeholders across the state unite to request an equitable Lake Okeechobee management plan

Photo taken by the Lake Worth Waterkeeper of blue-green algae at the Lake Okeechobee Pahokee Marina on April 26, 2021 Today, Friends of the Everglades joined Everglades advocacy leaders across the state, Congressman Brian Mast (18th District of Florida), and Congressman Byron Donalds (19th District of Florida) to urge the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to adopt a more equitable Lake Okeechobee management plan. In order to expedite restoration efforts, aid in conservation efforts on federal lands, and protect impacted constituents and economies, the new Lake Okeechobee System Operating Manual (LOSOM) must send the maximum amount of water to the Everglades, Everglades National park, and Florida Bay during the dry season and eliminate harmful discharges to the St. [...]

Allie Preston2021-06-01T16:45:33-04:00June 1st, 2021|All Posts, Friends of the Everglades Statements, Toxic Algae|