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Algae task force to gather in West Palm; meeting follows city's toxic water emergency

Palm Beach Post

Florida’s Blue-Green Algae Task Force will convene in West Palm Beach next week in its first meeting in Palm Beach County and a month after a cyanotoxin emergency left the city’s tap water undrinkable by some vulnerable populations.

West Palm Beach's battle with a toxin produced by the Cylindrospermopsis cyanobacterium, also known as blue-green algae, will likely be on the agenda for discussion June 23, but if it’s not, one member said he plans to make it an issue.

“I don’t believe we have seen a drinking water closure of this size in the state for quite a while,” said James Sullivan, a task force member and executive director of Florida Atlantic University's Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute. “It is going to come up. If it doesn’t come up, I will bring it up.”

MORE: West Palm's water woes: City finds cyanobacterium is stubborn foe that can take days to find

The meeting will be held at the South Florida Water Management District, which is technically in unincorporated West Palm Beach at 3301 Gun Club Road. It begins at 10 a.m. and is open to the public.

Sullivan said meeting in West Palm Beach may just be coincidence. Meetings last year were held virtually. Tallahassee, the University of Florida, Lee County, Harbor Branch and Florida Gulf Coast University also have been sites for meetings.

A spokesman for the water management district said the district's auditorium was booked for the algae task force early this month — after the May 28 health alert issued by the city.

“West Palm is kind of a hot spot right now,” Sullivan said about the recent contamination by cylindrospermopsin, which can cause an upset stomach, vomiting and diarrhea, as well as liver and kidney damage.

West Palm Beach first learned of toxins in the drinking water at low levels from a May 3 test. A subsequent May 17 test, the result of which was received May 19, showed harmful levels for vulnerable populations, including young children, the elderly, nursing mothers, pregnant women and anyone with liver or kidney problems.

MORE: Toxic algae forces closure of Palm Beach County flood control structure when canals need water

The city waited for confirmation tests received May 27 before alerting the Florida Department of Health, which issued an advisory that was sent out to the public at about 10 p.m. May 28.

According to the EPA, 0.7 parts per billion (ppb) of cylindrospermopsin is harmful for vulnerable populations, with 3 ppb considered harmful for school-age children and adults. The EPA has a 10-day health advisory on both toxicity levels, meaning adverse health effects are not expected to occur during that time period when toxins are at or below those levels.

The highest level the city water tested for was 1.5 ppb before the alert was issued.

There are no regulations from the EPA on cylindrospermopsin and no requirements that water suppliers test for it, according to a 2015 EPA report.

The health alert was lifted June 4.

“The upcoming meeting is a good chance for people to express concerns,” Sullivan said. “The Department of Environmental Protection and Department of Health will probably be there.”

Several West Palm Beach residents spoke last week at the water management district’s governing board meeting about the toxins in the city's drinking water. West Palm Beach also provides water to Palm Beach and South Palm Beach.

Patty McNally, of West Palm Beach, told the board she believes the contaminated water caused her to have reoccurring headaches, a blister on her lip and unexplained vomiting.

“We stand here at another moment when humans are faced with poisoned water,” said water management district board member Cheryl Meads after hearing public comment at the June 10 meeting. “Sometimes I feel like we are in a cage fight, a no-holds-barred fight.”

The five-member Blue-Green Algae Task Force was created by Gov. Ron DeSantis soon after he entered office in 2019. It has no regulatory authority, but acts as an advisory board to the Florida DEP. Wednesday will mark its ninth meeting since June 2019 and its first in-person meeting since October 2019.

Kmiller@pbpost.com

@Kmillerweather