Algae blooms continue to multiply at Lake Okeechobee

LEE COUNTY, Fla.– The latest pictures from Lake Okeechobee are causing concern as some parts of the lake are seeing huge blooms and even mats of Blue-Green Algae.

A few spots along the Caloosahatchee River are starting to see the algae as well.

“There is a decent amount of colonies, each week we’ve been monitoring the colony counts are going up,” said Mike Kratz, a Graduate Student at FGCU.

“That only coincides with Okeechobee right now, there are some massive algal blooms at the surface.” 

On a bright sunny day at the Franklin Lock in Alva, it’s not hard to spot the algae from the riverbank. Each tiny green speck is a growing colony of Blue Green Algae.

“There’s lots of colonies. Colonies are pretty small, you can barely see them with the naked eye, they are about the size of a pinhead.” said Dr. Barry Rosen, an FGCU Algae Expert. 

The students are working on an experiment to test the effectiveness of Hydrogen Peroxide in killing Blue-Green Algae blooms as a sort of environmentally safe spot treatment. 

“We’re looking at how it works on surface algae scums, instead of just smaller colonies.” Kratz added. 

It’s just one aspect of the latest efforts to tackle the ongoing algae problem, and part of the fight to keep our waterways healthy, and clear. 

The post Algae blooms continue to multiply at Lake Okeechobee appeared first on NBC2 News.

NBC2 Fort Myers