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