Lee County health officials are warning of an cyanobacteria bloom in Cape Coral’s Gator Slough canal, a chronically polluted north Cape waterway that empties into the Matlacha Pass Aquatic Preserve.
The Florida Department of Health in Lee County said a Nov. 24 sample showed harmful algal toxins in the canal’s water.
Also called blue-green algae, cyanobacteria are common in Florida’s freshwater. A bloom occurs when rapid growth of algae leads to an overgrowth of individual cells that stain the water and often produce foul-smelling floating mats…