Lake Okeechobee … a thumbnail explanation for HAB crisis.

No doubt about it … Florida is in crisis-mode as it contends with the horrible side-effects of Harmful Algae Blooms (HAB). Unfortunately, the crisis was all to predictable, after nearly unprecedented torrential winter rains filled Lake Okeechobee to threateningly high levels — and resulted in mass-draining of the polluted (see: toxic) lake.

ABC News reported on July 4th that Florida’s Gold Coast is suffering from a nearly worst-ever tourist turnout. Hundreds of millions of tourist dollars have already been lost, and more economic fallout will follow.

As far back as 1999, concerns over phosphorus loading from agriculture were being presented by the State of Florida Environmental Protection Agency. In 2011, even more clarity regarding phosphorus runoff into Lake Okeechobee, largely from area agriculture, was brought to light:

Water quality in the lake has degraded over time due to high phosphorus loadings resulting from man-induced hydrologic and land use modifications over the past 60 years. The total phosphorus concentrations that currently exist in the lake are in excess of the amount needed for a healthy ecosystem. The in-lake total phosphorus concentrations have doubled over the last 50 years ….

Gold Coast Algae Bloom
Gold Coast Algae Bloom

With all the aforementioned heavy rain, in February, 2016, concerns over flooding resulted in the Army Corp of Engineers decision to drain Lake of Okeechobee at a rate of 70,000 gallons per second. And eventually all this dirty water flows to the tourist areas … bringing HABs with it.

A February 26, 2016 article by ThinkProgress.org was downright prophetic in predicting the “What Happens Next” stemming from this inevitable, if ill-fated, decision.

The simple fact is this: too many nutrients in water are a bad thing. They present a problem that spreads with runoff from land, which flows into waterways and then moves to other areas. Florida’s Gold Coast may be the latest, and most glaring example. But it is far from the only one.

Shallow Lakes Can Survive Ecological Threats

With my son heading today to the Midwestern vacation hot spot Wisconsin Dells, it seems like a good time to check on the condition of one of that area’s biggest attractions: Lake Delton.

For over 60 years this lake, which is home to Tommy Barlett’s wildly popular water shows, has been a flagship tourist draw to The Dells. Beaches and condominiums line the 250-acre man-made lake, the primary inflow for which is Dell Creek; with an outflow to the Wisconsin River.

But the lake is not without its problems. With an average depth of just 10 feet, and only about 20 feet at its deepest point, Lake Delton has algae problems. So much so, that lake area residents and the Village of Lake Delton in 2012 approved injecting blue dye into the lake, to make it prettier for residents and tourists alike.

Ahhh, the benefit of tourist dollars and sizable resources.

Home on Lake Delton, WI
Home on Lake Delton, WI

Well, the question begs, doesn’t it? If Lake Delton can struggle with toxic algae, what chance do other small and shallow lakes have?

Not that bad, it appears.

In this excellent article on shallow lakes ecology, by Dwight Osmon — a Water Research Planner for ecology engineering firm Hey and Associates — there are some rules of thumb to follow that give shallow lakes a chance to be cleaner and more naturally viable for people, plants and fish alike.

Promoting native plant life at the bottom of a shallow lake appears to be key.

Here is some of what Osmon presents as a multi-pronged solution:

  • Make an effort to, ironically and when applicable, lower the water level of the lake to permit sunlight to reach the lake bottom, and facilitate plant growth.
  • Eliminate carp via commercial fishing, and the introduction of predatory game fish such as Walleye and Pike.
  • Create larger no-wake zones to reduce wave activity — or eliminate the wake activity from boats altogether.
  • Control nutrient loading into the lake from sources such as farms and residential properties.

Osmon emphasizes that these approaches work best when implemented simultaneously. Certainly, together they represent a better option than adding blue dye.

Florida Keys? No Immunity From Nutrient Runoff

It is more than a guilty pleasure. I am an addict for watching the terrific Netflix Original Series “Bloodline.” So much so, that I just had to explore how, or if, nutrient runoff is having an impact on the Florida Keys’ beautiful and environmentally fragile area.

What I found is typical and, at least for me in this case, disheartening.

Despite the myriad abusers of the only continental coral reef in the United States, a reef that is third in size only to those that exist off the coasts of Australia and Belize, its number one threat remains nutrient runoff.

This passage from Reef Relief Founders is particularly unsettling:

Florida Keys Coral Reef
Florida Keys Coral Reef (NOAA)
Corals require clean, nutrient-free waters to thrive. A healthy coral reef has from 30-40% live coral coverage.  However, in the Florida Keys, coral coverage is now reduced to an alarming 3%.  Coral spawning has been reduced due to lack of healthy coral colonies and clean water.
 

The over-abundance of nutrients in the ocean is the single biggest threat to Florida’s coral reefs. Nutrients is a scientific term for organic and inorganic materials that can include phosphates, and/or nitrates, usually from untreated and partially treated sewage, fertilizers and other pollutants.  They promote algal blooms which rob the water of oxygen and compete with corals for habitat. Every year, 700 tons of nutrients are discharged into Keys waters from agricultural run-off from the Everglades. Another 33 tons of land-based sources of pollution are discharged from the landbase in the Keys, primarily from inadequately treated sewage and stormwater.  Harmful algal blooms can result in eutrophication, when oxygen levels become so low that fish and other marinelife cannot survive.

With a nutrient discharge of 700 tons, Everglades agricultural runoff dwarfs the relatively meager 33 tons coming from land-based communities in the Keys.
As ever, however there is encouraging news. This time coming from a three-year Oregon State University study. The results? Reduce pollution, particularly nutrient runoff — which is relatively easy to accomplish, the study says, through improved sanitation and best farming practices — and the Florida Keys reefs make a dramatic comeback.
In as little as one year.

County Algae Bloom Issues Everywhere. Solutions, Too.

Out of curiosity, mostly, I decided to start searching on counties by-state, to see which were contending with algae bloom issues in lakes. After several searches, I found that none were free of problems. All cited a combination of industrial, residential, and agricultural runoff as the contributors to the problem.

No surprise there.

But, alas, there are always solutions. Case in point: Lake Delavan in the southwest corner of Walworth County, WI.

Dredging, fish killing to remove Carp, large-scale landscaping, tributary protection, private and public funding, a network of committed area residents and municipalities sworn to maintain responsible land-use practices, and “watch dog” measures to help ensure compliance, have been applied over three decades to restore to life a lake that was once considered an area blight.

True, countless hours of effort, planning, and millions of dollars have been invested in the restoration. It has been a huge undertaking, to say the least.

Lake Delavan Aerial View
Lake Delavan Aerial View

But what a return.

It is estimated that over 800 jobs are created annually as a result of the cleanup. Property values on and around the lake have risen a remarkable $99 million, and the local economic contribution is projected at $77 million.

Clean water is an asset that cannot be diminished by any measure, in any place. Of this, Lake Delavan is surely an example.