Algae Blooms

The large outbreak of blue-green algae is expected this summer on Lake Okeechobee after red tide has been rampant in part due to nutrient pollution from Hurricane Ian

The loss of seagrass has been blamed on a variety of factors, including heavy rains that wash nutrients into the bay.

Steve Friedman said he "needed a life change.” A passion for environmental activism led him to the water.

The continued health of the state's waterways, beaches and natural preservation is key to keeping Florida's economy going, says the president of 1000 Friends of Florida.

The Centers for Disease Control is enlisting willing residents who live along canals in Cape Coral or the Caloosahatchee River in a study to discover how much blue-green algae can effect humans.

Hurricanes season is long gone, but Florida's waterways are still recovering. The powerful storms pushed millions of gallons of sewage and fertilizer into fresh water bodies and that is causing outbreaks of blue-green algae, which can be toxic to humans and fish.

Wildlife officials said that plans are in place to resume an experimental feeding program at a warm-water power plant near Cape Canaveral.

The Indian River Lagoon saw a brief respite from massive algal blooms this year. But heavy rains from Hurricane Ian led to wastewater spills and stormwater outflows in yet another setback to water quality. Even so, natural resource managers say the lagoon's restoration is still attainable.

Before Hurricane Ian struck, scientists were monitoring water from the mouth of Tampa Bay near Manatee River, all the way up to Cockroach Bay, on the southeastern shore of Hillsborough County for possible effects of a Piney Point stormwater release.

New research finds that human pollution influences the severity of red tides more directly than scientists previously understood. The connection sheds light on the need for better water-quality monitoring statewide — and ultimately, to reduce the nutrient pollution flowing into Florida’s waterways.

After decades of pollution suffocated Tampa Bay and killed half its seagrass and much of its marine life, unprecedented political cooperation and hundreds of science-guided projects brought the estuary back to life. Tampa Bay became a symbol for the success of the Clean Water Act of 1972, but seagrasses and fish have begun to die again.