Sanibel residents alarmed by red tide’s impact on local beaches

The Florida Department of Health has issued several red tide warnings in Southwest Florida recently.

In Sanibel, red tide has taken over popular beaches, causing concern among residents and visitors.

WINK News reporter Paul Dolan reported from Sanibel, sharing insights from experts about the impact of red tide on water quality.

The toxins released during a red tide bloom can cause a domino effect.

When a massive fish kill happens, the decomposing fish can cause water quality to plummet.

Experts say environmental conditions are currently favorable for the toxic algae to thrive off the shores of Sanibel.

“Any kind of stormwater, runoff or river discharges contain nitrogen that can help fuel the blooms,” said Eric Milbrandt of the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation.

Co-founder of Captains for Clean Water, Chris Wittman, expressed concerns about Lake Okeechobee discharges contributing to the bloom.

“We currently are having discharges from Lake O that we know can feed those blooms and could it explode into something impacting our businesses coming into tourist season,” said Wittman.

As the red tide stretches across Southwest Florida, many are seeking solutions.

David Spiers of Heartland Energy Group has proposed an XTREME technology to combat the blooms.

XTREME is a proprietary product developed by the Heartland Energy Group that utilizes a natural, non-toxic water treatment for blue-green algae.

Research conducted by Spiers and the Heartland Energy Group found that XTREME can apply to other strains of algae blooms.

“We’re ready to go when we’re called on,” said Spiers, although he still needs approval from the state to deploy the solution.

“The state will put a program together to deploy this with our ownership. And we have, we have people right now talking to the state, and we’re, we’re starting our game plan or action plan as we speak,” Spiers added.

Spiers remains confident in the technology’s capability, saying, “There’s no bloom large enough that XTREME can’t handle. I don’t care how big the bloom is.”

In the past two hours, the Collier County Department of Health issued a red tide bloom alert for Barefoot Beach and Vanderbilt Beach.

Experts warn that while individuals may not feel immediate impacts at the beach, children or pets might be affected.

A.I. assisted with the formatting of this story. Click here to see how WINK News uses A.I.