The City of West Palm Beach shut down taps flowing into its main supply of drinking water after finding algae in canals coming from Lake Okeechobee.

Poonam Kalkat, the city’s director of public utilities, said the Grassy Waters Preserve, which also provides water for the Town of Palm Beach, needed to be protected from potential harmful algae blooms, even though the supplemental lake water was buoying the preserve until the wet season arrives.

With water levels dropping in the preserve, there is also a risk the long-suffering Loxahatchee River won’t get the freshwater it needs to fight back invasions of saltwater lethal to native cypress trees that have died in slow motion since human development so altered the watershed.

The Loxahatchee River is South Florida’s only nationally recognized wild and scenic river.

“We are working hard to make sure that while we meet all the needs of the City of West Palm Beach residents, we are also trying to supply water to the Loxahatchee,” Kalkat said in a Water Resources Task Force meeting last week.

A similar situation happened in 2020 when water levels in Grassy Waters dropped too low to supply the Loxahatchee River. At the same time, Lake Okeechobee was also low – 11.03 feet above sea level on May 15 – but a special agreement was made with the South Florida Water Management District to funnel water to the river until the rains came.

TONY DORIS/palmbeachpost.com

This year, Lake Okeechobee is flush with water at nearly 14 feet on Thursday, but algae is the concern.

“We certainly have more water to deliver this year than we did last year if we need to, but now we have water quality issues,” said South Florida Water Management District governing board member Jay Steinle during the April 29 task force meeting. “Prior to that, we should have, and could have, been delivering supplemental flows to the river, because every year the degradation of the river is getting worse.”

The algae found by city officials in the L-8 canal from Lake Okeechobee is growing in patches throughout Palm Beach County waterways and in the lake. Kalkat said she didn’t know if the L-8 algae contained toxins, and no tests in the area are showing on the state’s algal bloom monitoring website.

GREG LOVETT/palmbeachpost.com

In late March, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection notified the state health department in Palm Beach County that water samples taken in the C-51 canal upstream of where the releases reach the Lake Worth Lagoon were tainted with blue-green algae and low levels of the toxin microcystin.

Last month, an algae bloom at the Pahokee Marina tested 100 times more toxic than what is considered safe for humans and triggered an emergency cleanup effort spearheaded by the water management district.

Lake Worth Waterkeeper Reynaldo Diaz said cyanobacteria blooms – also known as blue-green algae – have also been spotted in three spillways that lead to the C-51 and in the M canal, which channels water from the L-8 to Grassy Waters.

“There’s been so much political theater over the Pahokee Marina and they completely ignore the true extent (of the algae). They’re going to need a bigger vacuum,” he posted on the waterkeeper Instagram account referring to one of the tools used to clean up the marina.

Terry Butler was beginning his eight-hour shift at the Pahokee Campground & Marina early Wednesday as government officials began gathering to address toxic algae that could be unleashed on the Treasure Coast if Lake Okeechobee discharges resume. 

Butler spends his weekdays working at the marina, where he cleans boats, trims hedges and, for the past few weeks, has carefully weaved his way around the docks trying to avoid the putrid scent algae releases at his workplace. 

“It’s really hard for me to smell it every day. But I’ve got to come to work,” the 55-year-old Pahokee city employee said. “I don’t know about the risks. I’m not aware of what it is … but every year, it comes in from somewhere else.” 

Toxic algae poses a health risk

The algae — blooming just feet from where Butler stood — contained 860 parts per billion of the toxin microsystin, state data updated Wednesday shows. At 8 parts per billion, microsystin makes water too hazardous to touch, ingest or inhale for people, pets and wildlife, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 

As coastal residents along the Treasure Coast ramp up environmental education and activism in the face of the looming Lake O discharges, some are saying inland communities are facing environmental racism.

“Although the cyanobacteria itself doesn’t discriminate, broken policy dictates that particular communities are hurt more than others,” Lake Worth Waterkeeper  Reinaldo Diaz wrote in an April 10 blog post. 

The troubles plaguing Lake O aren’t new, former Pahokee Mayor J.P. Sasser wrote in an email to TCPalm Wednesday. 

“I am 66 years old and every summer, Lake O turned green with algae,” he said. “We swam in it, water-skied in it and we eat the fish out of it.”

The potential threat of toxic algae sliming the St. Lucie River, Indian River Lagoon and Atlantic Ocean beaches this summer prompted U.S. Rep. Brian Mast, R-Palm City, to visit Pahokee to see it for himself. As he began his news conference at the marina, Butler picked up his weed whacker and started his workday. 

“We’re not going to take this in my community,” said Mast, who represents Martin, St. Lucie and parts of north Palm Beach counties. “I can’t speak for every community, but I know they don’t want this here in Pahokee. They don’t want it in the Lake Worth Lagoon. And they don’t want it in the St. Lucie.” 

The Florida Department of Health earlier this month chained warning signs to guardrails near the Port Mayaca Lock & Dam, where toxic algae intensified to 15 times higher than federal guidelines deem unsafe. 

“CAUTION: Blue-green algae may be in these waters,” the signs read. 

But there were no signs in Spanish in the area, a popular fishing and recreational spot frequented by Hispanic residents from the nearby Village of Indiantown.  

Indian Riverkeeper Mike Conner wanted to change that. 

“I just thought it was unfair that the signs there were only in English,” he told TCPalm Tuesday. “It’s a human health hazard. People need to know what they’re looking at, what they’re touching, what they’re dealing with when fishing there.”

Leah Voss/TCPPALM

Conner appealed to the DOH office in Martin County, which issued an avoid-water advisory for the Port Mayaca area on April 16. 

Five days later, DOH heeded Conner’s request and posted two signs written in Spanish on the north and south sides of the lock, which are common entry points for anglers, Environmental Manager Nick Clifton told TCPalm Tuesday.

The cyanobacteria, more commonly called “blue-green algae,” contained 120 parts per billion of the toxin microsystin last week, according to state data. At 8 parts per billion, microsystin makes water too hazardous to touch, ingest or inhale for people, pets and wildlife, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

“It is a very broad, Spanish-speaking community, so (the signs) definitely needed to be out there,” Clifton said. 

Florida Department of Health

English-only warning signs also were posted last month around the Phipps Park boat ramp and at the entrance to the St. Lucie Lock & Dam, after March 29 water samples measured low traces of microsystin, according to health officials. 

DOH will conduct health education and outreach as needed around Indiantown and elsewhere if data shows the toxic algae moving east through the C-44 Canal, Clifton said. The canal connects to the St. Lucie River via the St. Lucie Lock & Dam. Water can flow as far as the Indian River Lagoon and Atlantic Ocean beaches, as it did in 2018. 

“These signs need to be looked at as an important kind of first step,” Lake Worth Waterkeeper Reinaldo Diaz told TCPalm Tuesday. “They are important because we really need to do our best to educate the public on just how risky this stuff is to our health.”

Toxic algae can cause nausea and vomiting if ingested, and a rash or hay fever symptoms if touched or inhaled. Drinking the water can cause long-term liver disease. Some research indicates a link between long-term inhalation and neurological ailments such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Lou Gehrig’s diseases.

Diaz called the effects of toxic algae on minority communities a form of environmental racism in an April 10 blog post. He cited an ongoing algae bloom at the Pahokee Campground & Marina that was affecting Glades County residents. 

A blue-green algae bloom was identified in water discharging to the Lake Worth Lagoon last month with toxin levels high enough to trigger the posting of multiple warning signs at Spillway Park, a popular fishing spot.

Florida Department of Environmental Protection officials notified the state health department in Palm Beach County on March 22 that water samples taken in the C-51 canal upstream of where the releases reach the lagoon were tainted with the toxin microcystin.

The lagoon is receiving a mix of water that includes discharges from Lake Okeechobee, according to the South Florida Water Management District. The Army Corps of Engineers said Friday it was halting those discharges because of lake-level concerns. 

A freshwater infusion was requested by the county because salinity levels in the brackish estuary were getting as high as the ocean, but it asked that the delivery not include lake water that can carry the ingredients for a harmful blue-green algae bloom.

“Of course, that’s not what we ended up getting. We took Lake Okeechobee water and with that came a cyanobacteria bloom,” said Reinaldo Diaz, founder of Lake Worth Waterkeeper, a lagoon advocacy group.

Kimberly Miller

The level of toxins measured last month were trace amounts and below what the EPA considers unsafe, but Diaz is concerned dangerous toxin levels could follow as longer days and warmer temperatures encourage cyanobacteria growth.

“If I know there is ANY microcystin in the water, I stay away,” said Florida Atlantic University research professor J. William Louda in an email about the toxin measurement. “Exposure to even low levels, over time, can lead to health problems.”

Lake Okeechobee discharges to the St. Lucie River will end Saturday and be reduced to the Caloosahatchee River, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced Friday.

The reason for that decision is lack of rainfall and a quickly receding lake — not traces of low-toxic algae seen at the Port Mayaca and St. Lucie floodgates last week, according to Col. Andrew Kelly, the Corp’s Florida commander.

“The short answer is no,” Kelly said when TCPalm asked whether algae was a factor in the Corps’ decision. “It was not about algae, it was all about lake recession.”

Having receded about a foot since discharges began 34 days ago, the lake’s level was about 14 feet, 2 inches Friday. That still isn’t as low as the Corps typically wants it to be to make room for heavy summer rains — historically 12½ feet by June 1.

The Corps previously has acknowledged it might have to settle for 13½ feet.

The average rainfall in March was 1.6 inches less than usual, according to John Mitnik, the South Florida Water Management District’s chief engineer. 

“The lake is receding in the dry season, nature has taken over,” Kelly said Friday, adding that normal lake operations will resume from the “deviation” that allowed discharges now, in the hope of curbing releases containing harmful algae blooms this summer. 

Algae visible on Lake O

A “widespread” bloom of cyanobacteria, commonly called “blue-green algae,” coated Lake O’s western coastline near Clewiston Wednesday, according to aerial photographs the Calusa Waterkeeper shared on social media. 

A blue-green algae bloom was also photographed Friday near the entrance of the Port Mayaca lock, according to Indian Riverkeeper Mike Conner. 

“Lake Okeechobee cyanobacteria bloom is underway, now both sides of the lake,” Conner posted to Facebook Friday afternoon.

There was also a visible bloom upstream of the Moore Haven Lock, according to Calusa Waterkeeper, a Fort Myers-based environmental nonprofit. 

There were 22 water samples collected by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection between April 2 and Thursday.  “Algal bloom conditions” were observed at 14 of the sites, according to the agency’s weekly blue-green algae update. 

Traces of algae were seen March 29 at the Port Mayaca Lock, which releases lake water east to the St. Lucie River and west to the Caloosahatchee River, as well as the St. Lucie Lock, which releases water to the St. Lucie River.

The algae contained microcystin, a toxin that measure 0.79 parts per billion at Port Mayaca, according to Martin County officials, and 0.34 parts per billion at the St. Lucie Lock, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Water containing 8 parts per billion or more is considered too hazardous to touch, ingest or inhale, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Though the algae’s toxicity was considered low, it prompted an avoid-water advisory from the DOH-Martin office. Warning signs were posted at the Phipps Park boat ramp and St. Lucie Lock entrance April 2, said Nick Clifton, DOH environmental manager.  

How much water has been released?

Since discharges began March 6, nearly 10 billion gallons of polluted freshwater has passed through the St. Lucie floodgates into the brackish St. Lucie River, Corps data showed through Tuesday.

Discharges to the Caloosahatchee will be reduced to a weekly average rate of 646 million gallons per day from 775 million gallons per day. On April 3, the Corps reduced discharges to both coastal estuaries:

• St. Lucie: To 193 million gallons per day from 323 million gallons per day
• Caloosahatchee: To 775 million gallons per day from 969 million  gallons a day. 

The discharge event prompted Treasure Coast lawmakers this week to pressure the Corps to stop. 

U.S. Rep. Brian Mast, R-Palm City, wrote the agency a letter Monday, cosigned by Florida Sen. Gayle Harrell and Florida Rep. Toby Overdorf, both of Stuart.

They urged the Corps to prohibit discharges to the St. Lucie River and make it a policy to send excess lake water elsewhere. It’s a move the agency’s own modeling shows is possible. 

The Lake Okeechobee System Operating Manual, which the Army Corps is currently in the process of rewriting for the first time since 2008, is nicknamed LOSOM.

“We write to urge you to seize the once-in-a-decade opportunity provided by the drafting of (LOSOM) to stop poisoning our community,” the letter reads.

Mast followed up with a second letter Wednesday, raising alarms about the estuary’s ecological health. 

“These releases are already having an impact on the health of the fragile ecosystem in the St. Lucie,” Mast wrote to Kelly. “While I understand the Army Corps’ goal is to make preventative discharges now in an effort to avoid discharges during the summer, continuing these releases indefinitely … will put lives at risk.” 

Is 4 inches worth the risk?

If the Corps had continued to discharge lake water into coastal estuaries at its most recent rate, that would’ve contributed to a lake level reduction of about ⅓ of a foot through June 1, according to TCPalm’s calculations, which didn’t factor in unknown variables such as rain, evaporation and farmers siphoning lake water for irrigation. 

That amount — roughly 4 inches — left some environmentalists wondering whether continued damage to the St. Lucie River now outweighed the hope of curbing discharges this summer, when algae blooms typically are bigger and more toxic. 

“It’s the duration that hurts,” sometimes more than the volume, said Mark Perry, executive director of the Florida Oceanographic Society in Stuart.

Even a small amount of discharges can damage the river if they continue for several months, he said. 

“It’s not really significant enough perhaps to continue to damage the estuaries with these discharges.” 

One of the best measures of the St. Lucie estuary’s health is oysters, whose spawning season is peaking from now through May, Perry said. The animals thrive in brackish water, but can die after being inundated by the lake’s freshwater for too long — typically 28 days for adults and 14 days for juveniles, Perry said. 

Salinity levels are declining slowly, but at the current 15 parts per thousand, they remained in the “good” range for oyster health Thursday, according to Lawrence Glenn, director of the SFWMD’s water resources division. 

Lake O water is “impacting the estuary’s salinity and damaging oyster beds, which as you know, is a key indicator that the health of the estuary is declining,” Mast wrote to Kelly Wednesday. 

For more news, follow Max Chesnes on Twitter.

Max Chesnes is a TCPalm environment reporter covering issues facing the Indian River Lagoon, St. Lucie River and Lake Okeechobee. You can keep up with Max on Twitter @MaxChesnes, email him at max.chesnes@tcpalm.com and give him a call at 772-978-2224.

It was the first assessment of a unique experiment that began in 2007 to divert harmful sediments flowing from Lake Okeechobee and the watershed into an up to 18-foot deep gash at the bottom of the C-51 Canal – a firehose that when discharged can cover lagoon oysters and paddle grass in dark goo.

The $77,000 study, contracted by the South Florida Water Management District with South Florida Engineering and Consulting, said in two out of six situations reviewed, the trap worked to minimally reduce the amount of so-called “suspended solids” flushed into the Lake Worth Lagoon.

In four of the tests, when there were higher flows of water through the canal, the trap had the negative effect of releasing sediment to the lagoon.

“We were all kind of hoping the report was just going to say we need to maintain it,” said Reinaldo Diaz, founder of Lake Worth Waterkeeper, an advocacy group for the lagoon. “It doesn’t seem like it’s a silver bullet, but it’s also not a complete failure. There is room for improvement.”

An agreement between the South Florida Water Management District, city of West Palm Beach and Palm Beach County called for regular maintenance of the trap, but it was unclear what that meant, water management district officials said.

While periodic measurements of muck depth have been made in the trap, last year’s study was the first comprehensive review of its effectiveness, even as 18 trillion gallons of Lake Okeechobee water flowed to the lagoon in 2016.

At about 40% full, it would cost an estimated $2 million to re-dredge the trap to its original 2007 capacity.

Jose Otero, a section administrator for the water management district who oversaw the sediment study, answered questions about the review at a Lake Worth Lagoon Initiative meeting Tuesday.

He said the study is not “definitive or conclusive.” It had few results that took a long time to get, he said.

“I think the district is trying to consider whether the information in this study is sufficient in making a recommendation on what is the next step, how urgent it is, and do we have some time to get a better handle on efficiency before we make a decision,” Otero said. “I don’t think the performance will be increased only by more frequent dredging.”

Dredging the muck also means finding a place to dry, clean and process it because it can contain high levels of arsenic.

Jeremy McBryan, Palm Beach County’s water resources manager, said the county is also still trying to digest the report to decide on the appropriate next steps. McBryan did note in Tuesday’s meeting that a handful of plans being considered as part of the Lake Okeechobee System Operating Manual would increase lake water going to the lagoon.

“The Army Corps is looking for places to put water that is going to the northern estuaries and there are many options on the table,” he said. “If you have an interest in the Lake Worth Lagoon, please get engaged and make sure the Corps understands the interest.”

Tens of millions of dollars have flowed to lagoon restoration efforts in the past two decades with more than 42 acres of new and improved habitat just since 2014. That includes building the Snook and Tarpon Cove islands, restoring of oyster beds, sea grasses and mangroves, and the construction of artificial reefs.

“Yes, we probably do need more study, and that’s kind of frustrating to hear,” Diaz said about the sediment trap.

He is concerned the lagoon’s troubles don’t get the same attention as the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee estuaries.

The St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee estuaries bear the brunt of damage when a swollen Lake Okeechobee needs to release water, but stormwater from 30 municipalities and a 300,000-acre watershed also drain into the Lake Worth Lagoon.

“Everyone knows what is going on now isn’t working,” said Karen Marcus, president of Sustainable Palm Beach County, about the sediment trap. “It has never been maintained. It needs to be maintained, you have to get that stuff out of there.” 

She said there is discussion about amending part of a proposed $150 million bond for environmental projects to earmark money to redesign the trap. That bond was supposed to go to Palm Beach County voters last year but was delayed because of the coronavirus. Marcus is hoping to get it back in front of voters in 2022.

Diaz said the Lake Worth Lagoon is not legally defined as a northern estuary of the greater Everglades – an exclusion that hurts it when water managers are looking for places to send Lake O overflow.

Until the mid-1800s, the Lake Worth Lagoon was a contained freshwater body, supplied primarily with water through ground seepage.

The Lake Worth Inlet, also called the Palm Beach Inlet, was first cut in the mid-19th century to open the lagoon to the Atlantic Ocean. In 1918, the inlet was stabilized and the channel widened and deepened to benefit the Port of Palm Beach.

In 1925-27 the Boynton Inlet, or South Lake Worth Inlet, was created.

“While it may not legally be defined as an estuary, scientifically, it clearly is,” Diaz said about the Lake Worth Lagoon.

Still, he’s optimistic that after 13 years, the water management district is reviewing the sediment trap’s effectiveness.

“It’s the first hard look at what we can do to make this better, which is very welcome,” he said.

Kmiller@pbpost.com

@Kmillerweather