Summer is upon us, and in Florida, water is everywhere. If you’re not a fan of the beach, you might head inland, were abundant springs and rivers offer ample opportunities of fun for everyone. But lately there’s a catch: Harmful algae blooms (HABs) are popping up everywhere, threatening to sicken people and pets.
According to a new analysis and map from the Environmental Working Group (EWG), nationwide testing has discovered dangerous toxins (microcystins) in outbreaks of blue-green algae in many bodies of water, but authorities offer little information warning people about the health hazards of toxic blooms. Now, thanks to the EWG report, we can track these blooms as they occur.
“The bottom line is, if you test for microcystins, you’ll probably find them,” said Soren Rundquist, EWG’s director of spatial analysis. “Hundreds of lakes and other resources Americans rely on for tap water and recreation are contaminated — sometimes even when there is no visible toxic algae bloom.” Fortunately, most Floridians get tap water from the aquifers, but exposure may occur from blooms in lakes and rivers.
July data from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, (DEP) showed most samples taken in Florida in the last 30 days found algal blooms. In previous years Floridians saw cyanobacteria blooms mostly near Lake Okeechobee, the result of agricultural runoff. However recently it’s been found in local waters and in Central Florida.
Recent tests by the DEP in June detected algae blooms in Pinellas County at Lake Seminole, Tierra Verde, Treasure Island and Harbor Isle, while in Hillsborough blooms popped up near Bayshore and Rome in Tampa as well as Pine Lake and Flint Creek. Samplings at other areas around Tampa Bay and Gulfport also tested positive for blooms.
“We monitor the bay, so we are more concerned with red tide (karenia brevis) but recently blue-green algae was spotted in the Manatee River and in Safety Harbor,” said Ed Sherwood, executive director of the Tampa Bay Estuary program, noting there’s been a persistent bloom of pyrodinium in Old Tampa Bay the last few years..
“Along the Courtney Campbell Causeway by Ben T. Davis Beach is an area where we’re working with Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation to reduce nutrients entering the bay and to increase oyster populations to clean and restore the water quality.”
In recent years, blue-green algae blooms — microscopic bacteria called cyanobacteria — have erupted in hundreds of lakes nationwide, risking the health of Americans who get drinking water from surface sources, or swim or fish from these lakes and rivers. Across the U.S., that’s about 60% of the population.
Not all algae blooms are toxic, but some produce poisonous cyanotoxins. Blue-green algae may contain harmful microcystins, which if ingested, may be toxic to humans and pets, causing adverse health effects ranging from skin rashes to serious illness and even. Recent studies found that the toxins can become airborne, drifting at least a mile away from the site of a toxic algae outbreak.
Last year, east coast Floridians were stunned when several dogs died, and others were sickened by drinking from algae-tainted water near their homes. Stuart veterinarian Cristina Maldonado treated six dogs in 2018 and confirmed all the dogs had high levels of microcystins in the urine and the blood. Two of those family pets died.
“All states should regularly test for microcystins and other cyanotoxins and warn the public about the dangers,” Rundquist said.
But EWG found only 20 states test regularly for microcystins and make the data public, often after a delay. Florida does test, and posts results on the DEP website. Other states provide little or no information about cyanotoxins from algae outbreaks.
If that worries you, follow the EWG’s map that tracks all algae blooms covered by the media nationwide. It’s updated weekly, and in 2019 to date, news stories about algae outbreaks outpace any year since 2010, when the environmental group began tracking media reports across the U.S.
Another problem the EWG report notes is the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) may have missed some instances of toxins, since a quarter of the samples were collected in May and June, a time of fewer outbreaks. Ninety percent of the bodies of water were only sampled once by the EPA, and that’s not often enough for a correct assessment, according to most experts.
The EPA lists microcystin and several other cyanotoxins on its candidate list for regulated water contaminants under the Safe Drinking Water Act, but establishing a health standard could take years. It tests water quality in hundreds of lakes every five years, and from 2007 and 2012 results revealed microcystin in water bodies in all contiguous 48 states. The 2012 survey found microcystin in almost 40% of the lakes sampled — that’s a 9.5% increase from 2007. Data for 2017 have not yet been made public.
Algae blooms peak toward summer’s end but recently, outbreaks are starting earlier and lasting longer. Increased rainfall and rising temperatures are exacerbating the issue. Last year was one of the hottest summers ever recorded and algae blooms also peaked.
Who can forget 2018 when red tide wreaked havoc on Florida’s Gulf Coast? By August The Fort Myers News Press reported the stench of hundreds of dead fish was sickening, and people developed respirator problems from aerosols from the algae itself, .
Since the last traces of the bloom faded away in February of this year, estimates average more than $20 million annually in tourism-related losses in Florida alone. The red tide of 2015-16 resulted in a loss of $1.33 million for clam aquaculture (areas leased for clam farming), and the Florida Department of Health said treating respiratory illness in Sarasota County alone averaged $0.5 to $4 million dollars.
Both blue-green algae and red tide blooms are caused by excess nutrients, and while marine scientists at Sarasota's Mote Marine Laboratory are reluctant to say cyanobacteria causes red tide, a major concern for Gulf Coast residents, it may add nutrients to feed the red tide bloom when it washes into coastal estuaries from inland sources. Algae blooms often are triggered by agricultural chemicals that run off crop fields into lakes, rivers, and, yes, they can reach the Gulf.
“We aren’t studying cyanobacteria, but we’re interested in it,” said Vince Lovko Mote, which receives state funding to study red tide. “But microcystins in algae blooms are linked to the nutrient input, making coastal issues more dynamic.”
Gov. Ron DeSantis convened the first meeting of his Blue-Green Algae Task Force a couple of weeks ago, so some folks hope for positive changes .
“It remains to be seen what will happen, but it’s good to start the conversation,” said Ed Sherwood.
For its report, EWG reviewed data from the Environmental Protection Agency’s National Lakes Assessment and from the 14 states that both regularly monitor lakes for microcystin and have made 2018 test results public. EWG tracks all algae bloom media coverage nationwide on a map that’s updated every week during the summer. It also offers a searchable list of media stories about algae blooms so you can check your area.
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This article appears in Aug 15-22, 2019.