Large algal bloom forms on Lake Okeechobee

(Above) A diagram from 2016 shows water flow in South Florida. (Allen Eyestone / The Palm Beach Post)

Florida’s freshwater heart is choking on nutrient-laden inflows from the north, south and east this summer, but Treasure Coast waterways have so far been spared the damaging Lake Okeechobee discharges that seeded 2016’s widespread algae bloom. In a move that hasn’t been made since 2014, the Army Corps of Engineers is letting Martin County’s St. Lucie Canal run into Lake Okeechobee to increase lake levels lowered by spring drought.

Water from the canal, also called the C-44, comes from the east. It’s a reverse of what happened last summer where water from the lake went through the canal into the St. Lucie estuary. Trickling through row crops, golf courses and some residential areas, the canal water has contained as much as two times the amount of phosphorous this month than what is considered normal, according to the South Florida Water Management District. The corps estimates 386 million gallons per day of canal water went into the lake during a 52-day period beginning June 5. At the same time, Kissimmee […]

Full article appeared in the Palm Beach Post, but appears to no longer be available online. —Ed.