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blue manatee boxes

Blue Manatee Boxes provides unique gift boxes for babies and young children and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to SCCF. Click here to learn more.

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Algae in the Caloosahatchee in 2010

Algae in the Caloosahatchee

Blue-green algae has been blooming in the Caloosahatchee from Moore Haven to Cape Coral sporadically over the past couple of algae off cape coral

months. There is now a large bloom of two algal species: Anabaena circinalis and Microcystis. It was a severe bloom of Microcystis that turned the Caloosahatchee bright green in 2006.

This past March, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began high-volume releases from Lake Okeechobee down the Caloosahatchee. Since May 3, almost 123 billion gallons have been dumped out of the lake at S-77 (the lock and dam structure by the lake). Combined with the runoff from the Caloosahatchee’s own watershed, 248 billion gallons of freshwater have been dumped into the Caloosahatchee. Salinity levels have plummeted and excess nutrient levels have risen.

Excess nutrients coupled with high water temperatures are a recipe for algal blooms. Blue-green algae blooms generally occur in the summer months when the days are longer and water temperature is warm-to-hot. They thrive in waters that are highly enriched with phosphorus and nitrogen, have lots of sunlight and stagnant water with low turnover. Nutrients from fertilizer, pastures, septic and runoff all contribute higher concentrations of phosphorus and nitrogen in the water column, which then supports various algal and cyanobacterial blooms.

How You Can Help

The South Florida Water Management District Governing Board will be reviewing the guidelines for releasing water from the lake, the Adaptive Protocols for Lake Okeechobee Operations, in the next few months. We need your help. Write to the Governing caloosahatchee by iona

Board and tell them that the estuaries and natural systems should be weighed equally with other users of our water – agriculture as well as public water supply – when decisions on releases are made.

Read our Action Alert to learn more.

Visit our web page about Adaptive Protocols.

SCCF Marine Lab Director Loren Coen flew upriver on August 3, courtesy of the Lee County Sheriff Department helicopter, and took photos. Unlike 2008, we have not yet seen severe blooms but we'll continue to monitor the situation.