Director with SFWMD says early algal blooms could possibly mean less fuel for wet season blooms

Blue-green algae remains present in parts of Southwest Florida Monday, and a water expert we spoke to hopes there could be a silver lining in the green, smelly gunk.

Lawrence Glenn, the water resources division director of South Florida Water Management District, told us it might be a good thing we’re seeing algal blooms earlier than usual. They could take in nutrients, meaning potentially less fuel for blooms in the rainy season.

We also learned Monday community members in Olga are dealing with blue-green algae near a boat ramp leading to residential canals  among other blooms occurring in Lee County.

Bob Johnson lives on the water for a reason.

“We enjoy boating,” Johnson said. “That’s why we’re down here. We like the water.”

As for current conditions in Olga, Johnson said, “We’re staying out of the water.”

That’s because of smelly, blue-green gunk near a boat ramp in Olga.

“It took about a week for these big globs to develop and the smell to develop,” Johnson said.

This all comes as we have a handful of blue-green algae health alerts in Lee County and the desire to figure out what makes algae tick.

That’s where Glenn comes in.

“Every month I talk about conditions on Lake Okeechobee, and with that, we talk about water quality,” Glenn said.

Glenn has a theory that could mean early algal blooms aren’t a bad thing.

“What I posed as maybe this is a good thing is that we’re using up that nutrient source early,” Glenn said.

Glenn explained, because the algae is taking up nutrients before rainy season Lake Okeechobee releases, it’s less fuel for summertime blooms.

“This isn’t an experiment where we have, you know, proven results out there, but just, and what we’re seeing, we did see a substantial bloom occur, and then, we did see a corresponding drop in dissolved inorganic nitrogen,” Glenn said. “On the face of it, that looks like it might be very helpful.”

Johnson told us he and his neighbors are looking into putting a bubbler at the end of their canal to prevent algae from going down. He also said they’ve talked to local leaders to clean up the canal too.

In the meantime, Johnson is among others who hope for answers and a solution along with water managers and experts.

“I’m not frustrated yet, but I’m hoping that we actually can get some help,” Johnson said.