Corps now warning Lake O boaters to watch out for blue-green algae | Thumb up

Treasure Coast Newspapers Editorial Board

Blue-green algae has become such a problem, even the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has begun warning boaters to avoid the gunk.

In what observers say is a first, the Corps' Jacksonville district — which manages the dike around the lake — has launched a public education campaign, even creating a page on its website directing visitors to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s real-time algal bloom dashboard.

Otto Herrera, of Royal Palm Beach, takes a closer look at the algae from shore at Lake Okeechobee on Friday, June 29, 2018, at Port Mayaca. Herrera, who said he has lived in Florida since he was 12 years old and had never seen the lake, was traveling from Bradenton with a friend who suggested the detour. "I'm surprised about the green stuff," Herrera said. "I was hoping to see a beautiful lake, but the green … it was kind of disappointing, you know." Discharges from the lake to the St. Lucie River were starting to be reduced Friday, with a complete stop for nine consecutive days then resuming in pulses indefinitely, according to the Army Corps of Engineers.

In a media release, the Corps stated it believes visitors to Lake Okeechobee and the 154-mile Okeechobee Waterway, which includes the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie rivers, "need to keep safety in mind whenever they are on or near the water and we want them to be aware that blooms have been reported."

It may seem a minor thing, but it's indicative of how pervasive and unavoidable the algae has become. And, from a public health perspective, it's both laudable — and necessary.