South Florida - Monday March 11, 2024: The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) reports that four site visits were made in the past seven days, with two samples collected after algal bloom conditions were observed by the samplers at two of the sites.
3 Site Visits:
- Doweling Lake: On March 4 and March 7, DEP staff made three Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) response site visits and samples were collected at Doweling Lake. The north
sample was dominated by microcystis sp. and had a trace level [0.61 parts per billion (ppb)] microcystins detected.
- Caloosahatchee River: The Pentagon Canal and Caloosahatchee River – Killer Canal sites had no cyanobacteria bloom present and no samples were taken.
1 Site Visit:
- Lake Okeechobee: On March 4, South Florida Water Management District staff collected one routine HAB monitoring sample at Lake Okeechobee – S308C (lakeside).
The sample had no dominant algal taxon or cyanotoxins detected.
This is a high-level summary of the sampling events for the reported week.
Blue-Green Algal Bloom
Different types of blue-green algal bloom species can look different and have different impacts.
However, regardless of species, many types of blue-green algae can produce toxins that can make you or your pets sick if swallowed or possibly cause skin and/or eye irritation due to contact.
We advise staying out of water where algae is visibly present as specks or mats or where water is discolored pea-green, blue-green or brownish-red. Additionally, pets or livestock should not come into contact with algal bloom-impacted water or with algal bloom material or fish on the shoreline.
Previous Week
On 2/29, DEP staff collected two HAB response samples. Dominant algal taxa and cyanotoxin results follow each waterbody name.
St. Lucie River – Northwest of Roosevelt: No dominant algal taxon; no cyanotoxins detected.
St. Lucie River – Banyan Tree Drive: Microcystis sp. dominant; no cyanotoxins detected.
Results for completed analyses are available at FloridaDEP.gov/AlgalBloom.
For all field visit and analytical result details, refer to the complete algal bloom map with data table by clicking the “Field and Lab Details” Quick Link from the Algal Bloom Dashboard.
