0304

Winter 2001 - V.16 N.4

NEWS AROUND THE LAGOON

Ban on Gill Nets Associated with Mullet Population Rebound

Indian River Lagoon South Feasibility Study Released

Ft. Pierce Works on Port Master Plan

Florida Slow to React to Toxic Algae

Legal Challenge to Manatee Zones

Buildings in Conflict with Comprehensive Plan to be Demolished

Army Corps Rollback Wetlands Mitigation Requirements

Central Florida To Run Out of Water in Five Years

Global Warming Threaten Estuaries

Boaters Suggest a Solution to Manatee Impacts

Everglades Restoration Office Closed

Conservation Lands Funded By FCT

Martin County Comp Plan Draws Fire From State

Florida Slow to React to Toxic Algae
From the Orlando Sentinel
When toxic algae bloomed in Indiana last summer, state officials warned residents within two days not to swim in the water or drink it. They sent printed advisories to more than 100 homes and to the media and called an emergency meeting of environmental specialists to plan an attack on future blooms. In Florida, where blooms of toxic algae are common, the Department of Health says no action is needed unless people report being sick. Florida biologists say that many lakes here have as many as 1.4 billion cells of the toxic algae cylindrospermopsis per liter of water. 20 of 23 lakes tested in a recent Orlando Sentinel investigation had a higher concentration of algae than is safe for humans to swim in by World Health Organization standards. These tests also showed an estimate of 7 billion cells per liter in Lake Griffin, 354 times the World Health Organization’s limit of 20 million per liter for swimming. Florida officials have studied high levels of toxic algae since 1997 and have found dangerous levels of toxins in treated drinking water from utilities serving West Palm Beach Charlotte, Sarasota and DeSoto counties. The Federal Center for Disease Control gave the Florida Health Dept. a $500,000 grant to study the effects of toxic algae on humans and equip a state laboratory to test for algal toxins in recreational and drinking water. The federal government has given Florida $20,000 to evaluate the effectiveness of home filtration devices in eliminating algal toxins.

Next Article: Legal Challenge to Manatee Zones.