Can West Palm Beach prevent another algae crisis?

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — The West Palm Beach water advisory has been lifted, but water and utility experts say it's most likely a matter of when, not if, it happens again.

The city had to issue an advisory for vulnerable populations to stop drinking tap water after high levels of blue-green algae toxins were detected in the water source.

Because West Palm Beach gets its drinking water supply from surface water at Clear Lake, it is susceptible to algae blooms.

"Given that they've had algae problems in the past, it is likely to happen again," said Fred Bloetscher, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies at Florida Atlantic University.

Bloetscher, who has previously served as a city manager and utilities director in Florida, said West Palm Beach has a few options to mitigate the threat of toxic algae going forward, including the construction of additional filtration systems.

Utility companies in other parts of Southeast Florida told CBS12 News they aren't concerned about toxic algae in their drinking water because they get their supply from underground aquifers, where sunlight cannot cause the algae to bloom.

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CBS12 News asked Bloetscher if West Palm Beach should try to convert to an aquifer water source, and he called the issue a "huge bucket of worms."

"The water supplies from the Biscayne are fully allocated, so the City of West Palm Beach, if it was to go back and try to get a groundwater supply, would not be successful in getting a Biscayne supply," he explained. "Then they would go deeper and try to get a brackish supply. That's a challenge because that aquifer recharges in North Florida. It is a bit of a sticky wicket."

If the city could hypothetically access an aquifer, it would be a massive project, and expense, to convert from the current surface water system.

Bloetscher estimated it could cost in the ballpark of half a billion dollars.

"It's a huge, huge ask," he said.

In a press conference Thursday, West Palm Beach Public Utilities Director Dr. Poonam Kalkat said the city is considering all of its options to prevent toxic algae in the future.

She also floated the idea of utilizing the emergency well system earlier or more frequently to dilute the Clear Lake Water supply.

"As mayor, I will do everything to protect our water supply from threats, whether by human activity or climate change," Mayor Keith James said.

City officials plan to convene a panel of experts to review the city's practices to address algal threats, and will receive recommendations from that panel.

Jerry Phillips, Director of Florida Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, told CBS12 News the state has to set limits on the nutrients like fertilizer that are discharged into waterways in order to get the algae threat under control.

"You have excessive nutrient loading come from north to south, from cattle ranches and fertilizer applications to crops," he said. "Those are heavily laden with phosphorous, nitrogen. When they discharge, and migrate into the surface waters, the levels build up. This is not anything new. This is something people have been advising about for decades. And no one wants to do anything about it."