Blue-green algal blooms found sitting in Caloosahatchee

FORT MYERS, Fla.– Blue-green Algal blooms are sitting in the Caloosahatchee. 

NBC-2 Reporter Michael Raimondi boarded a boat Thursday to check out Oxbow in the Alva area.

Captains for Clean Water Co Founder, Daniel Andrews, took him out to show what some of the smaller canals look like.

They found rotten-smelling algae sitting in shallow, slow-moving spots. The toxic pads of algae were floating on the surface in a few canals. We’ve also seen it at the Franklin Lock this week.

Captain Andrews said the recent easterly winds have helped break up the blooms. If it were calm, more parts of the river could see the blankets of neon green algae. 

Andrews says the salinity levels further down river near Downtown Fort Myers are high enough to limit algae from blooming. He says if we keep getting more algae-filled water from Lake Okeechobee, that could change this summer.

The salinity could drop and algae can build up further down the river. 

The Army Corps of Engineers will update us on water releases from the lake on Friday. Count on NBC-2 to let you know what they say.

The post Blue-green algal blooms found sitting in Caloosahatchee appeared first on NBC2 News.

NBC2 Cape Coral