No algae crisis so far, but don't think our water problems have been solved | Trending

So there’s some seaweed out there on the beaches and in the water. A lot of seaweed.

And it’s a problem. But as summertime problems go, I’ll take this one over what happened here last year any day of the week.

As beachgoers know, local shores are piled high with Sargassum, that seaweed with the little air-filled “berries.” It’s unsightly and as it decomposes in the Florida sun it can emit hydrogen sulfide, smelling like rotten eggs.

More: Sargassum seaweed on beaches can be a health hazard

More: Algae bloom at Port Mayaca three times too toxic to touch

However much has washed up on the beach, there’s far more in the ocean. Researchers have discovered what they call “The Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt,” which extends from Florida all the way to West Africa. Scientists worry the massive amount of sargassum could block sunlight from reaching sea grasses; when the seaweed dies and sinks to the bottom it could kill those seagrasses, even corals.

So clearly, it’s an environmental problem. But compared to last year’s algae crisis?

Please!

In fact, it’s nice to have a non-toxic summer. The floodgates leading to Lake Okeechobee have remained closed, and as a result toxic algae’s not clogging our local waterways. And all is right with the world.

Or is it?

A slightly toxic blue-green algae bloom has been detected in Headwaters Lake in Indian River County. Along the Gulf Coast, Manatee, Pinellas and Sarasota counties are seeing a strain of toxic algae called Lyngbya.

Lake O itself is dealing with algae blooms; one bloom at Port Mayca was recently measured as three times too toxic to touch.

Lower regional rainfall totals, and political pressure from Congressman Brian Mast and others on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to keep the lake lower, are the only reasons that poison hasn’t been washed our way again this year.

And for evidence of what might be happening if it had, look at Mississippi — where all 21 of the state’s Gulf beaches are closed due to blue-green algae blooms triggered by the opening of the Bonnet Carre spillway in Louisiana — a move made necessary because the Mississippi River has been inundated with record rainfalls throughout the Midwest.

There but for the grace of Mother Nature go us.

So even if our water quality problems this year pale in comparison to last year’s blue-green algae crisis — and the nightmarish red tide on Florida’s Gulf Coast — all we’ve done is dodge a bullet.

The systemic reasons for our water problems are still out there, festering.

So now's not the time for any false sense of security.

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Local, state and federal decision-makers need to keep pushing for solutions, for more research, more testing, new standards, new limits on pollution.

Locally, Congressman Brian Mast has stumped for lower Lake O levels to spare his constituents from another algae crisis. On the Gulf Coast, Congressman Francis Rooney has convened experts to talk about harmful algae and seek solutions.

And Florida's new Blue-Green Algae Task Force is now on the job, with some members saying at the group's second meeting late last month that voluntary "best management practices" for agriculture clearly aren't working, and leaky septic systems are a clear problem that must be forcefully addressed.

But here, then, are the headwinds against necessary change. Consider the politically powerful agriculture industry's reaction to any new, more stringent, mandatory pollution reduction standards.

Imagine the average homeowner's reaction to being told he or she has no choice but to hook up to the new sewer line coming through — and that'll be several thousand dollars, please.

The magnitude of our water crisis is immense; the challenges, if anything, may be even more monumental.

But what's our choice? The status quo? Hoping against hope the Lake O floodgates stay closed next summer too, and the summer after that?

In this space, we've argued that our local water problems are indicative of a broader, more pervasive state crisis. But in light of events in Mississippi and other locales menaced by toxic algae; given the rising rainfall totals and higher temperatures perhaps likely triggered by climate change — it's clear this is a national problem. And we need a commensurate response.

Problem is, it's far easier to say that than to do it. But if these crises do get worse — we'll have no choice.