State health officials Thursday sent out a blue-green algae caution for several locations along the Caloosahatchee River, and there’s potential for a large-scale bloom on Lake Okeechobee.
“The public should exercise caution in and around Caloosahatchee River (near Pioneer Canal, Bimini Canal, and Atlantic Canal),” a Florida Department of Health in Lee County press release reads. “Water sample testing is underway. Blue-green algae have the potential to produce toxins. Since environmental conditions can change at any time, it is important to exercise caution, even if presence of toxins has not yet been confirmed.”
Summer can be an interesting time for the Caloosahatchee River and its estuary, which stretches from the coast up to the W.P. Franklin Lock and Dam in Alva.
Heavy rains bring nutrient inputs from Lake Okeechobee, the upper Caloosahatchee watershed (which is largely agriculture) and urbanized areas like Fort Myers and Cape Coral.
The nutrients can feed blue-green algae blooms, and even red tide outbreaks in coastal waters.