An outbreak of algae in Melbourne’s primary source of drinking water, Lake Washington along the St. Johns River, is potentially toxic, according to findings Friday by the city’s laboratory.
The algae was first discovered and reported Thursday by a volunteer from the University of Florida’s LAKEWATCH program who was on the lake to collect monthly samples. Also on Thursday, Melbourne’s utility was getting customer complaints about an “earthy” odor in tap water, said city spokeswoman Cheryl Mall.
Mall said the utility adjusted its treatment process to ensure removal of any toxic elements and has increased utilization of a system that applies ozone to strip away smell and color from water.
“The water is safe to drink,” said Mall, adding that treated water is being tested for toxic elements.
Lake Washington provides the city with about two-thirds of the water piped to 170,000 people in Melbourne, Melbourne Beach, Satellite Beach and several other cities in south Brevard County.
The discovery of algae in Lake Washington comes amid heightened worries in Florida that rivers, lakes and offshore waters increasingly are prone to outbreaks of toxic varieties that, through contact or close proximity, are a threat to wildlife and to people.
The outbreak of algae in Lake Washington takes such concerns to a higher level. Most cities pump their drinking water from underground, while Melbourne is among a relatively small number of cities that rely on lakes and reservoirs for water supplies.
Lake Washington is essentially a wide spot in the state’s longest river, the 310-mile St. Johns, which forms near Vero Beach, flows north near Orlando and through Jacksonville and empties into the Atlantic Ocean.
This year alone, algae blooms have been documented in areas spanning nearly the entire length of the St. Johns River.
Lake George, a part of the river about 20 miles northwest of DeLand, was hard hit in April by toxic forms of algae, according to analysis from the St. Johns River Water Management District, a state agency charged with protecting and conserving water.
“The current algae blooms in the St. Johns River and Lake George are a stark reminder of how important and urgent this issue really is,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said in April, as he announced appointments to the state’s newly formed Blue-Green Algae Task Force.
A member of LAKEWATCH, Bill Zoby, said he paddled his 12-foot kayak across Lake Washington Thursday morning to collect two types of standard samples from three locations.
“It was like kayaking in pea soup,” said Zoby in an email later that day to the St. Johns Riverkeeper, an environmental group focused on restoring and protecting the river. “The gas from the algae was bubbling up and giving off awful smells.”
Zoby said he felt sick and coughed for much of Thursday night, feeling somewhat better by Friday but still concerned.
“That’s my drinking water,” said Zoby, of Melbourne.
There are many kinds of organisms labeled as algae; blue-green algae can include harmless and toxic varieties. Occurring naturally, they can exhibit explosive growth when feasting on nutrient pollution from sewage systems, stormwater and fertilizer.
Lake Washington is in a remote area and far upstream from the stormwater and wastewater effluent routed into the river in the Orlando area.
But a stunning outbreak of algae last year in Blue Cypress Lake, which is part of the St. Johns River headwaters and has been long cherished as pristine, brought environmental activists and state officials to focus on a byproduct of sewage treatment called “biosolids.”
Utilities in South and Central Florida routinely dump truckloads of biosolids on pastures as fertilizer. Some of the prime disposal areas are ranches that drain to the St. Johns River.
“It has really been discouraging,” said Lisa Rinaman, the leader of the St. Johns Riverkeeper, who has pushed state officials to impose more stringent regulations on the handling of biosolids.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection deployed staff on Friday to collect Lake Washington samples, while the St. Johns River Water Management District also will collect samples Monday, according to spokeswomen at those agencies.
kspear@orlandosentinel.com
