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Researchers removing toxins from tainted Lake Okeechobee water


Toxins are being scrubbed from tainted Lake Okeechobee water. (CBS12){p}{/p}
Toxins are being scrubbed from tainted Lake Okeechobee water. (CBS12)

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In a contained area along a canal at Moore Haven Lock and Dam in Okeechobee County, researchers are searching for revolutionary solutions in the ongoing fight against toxic algae.

An experiment that mirrors an oil spill clean-up is underway at Lake Okeechobee. Tainted lake water is being pumped through hoses that are connected to filters that are as large as a train car. That water is then stripped of toxic blue-green algae before returning to Lake Okeechobee.

"It's about time. I don't know if it's ever been rocket science to clean water," said Mary Romstadt of Offshore Tackle & Repair.

The Corps increased target flows from Lake Okeechobee to 200 cubic feet per second at Moore Haven Lock and Dam for eight hours daily over a period of 10 days. The adjustment will provide the flow required to support ERDC’s HABITATS pilot-scale demonstration project upstream of the structure at Moore Haven.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Engineer Research and Development Center received $2.3 million to undertake multiple activities this year, aimed at detecting, treating, and removing harmful algal blooms.

In a hunt for answers, the Army Corps of Engineers is changing up the game and is hoping to minimize or eliminate blue-green algae from local waterways.

But Romstadt worries the fear of algae still sends a shock wave through the Treasure Coast.

"Just the thought of the locks opening or the spillways opening, it sends a panic through all of the fishing community," Romstadt said. "Mother nature recovers very quickly, but people still don't want to go fishing because of what happened in the last several years."

Researchers are hoping for a scientific breakthrough.

The Corps also reduced the release to the Caloosahatchee estuary to zero cubic feet per second (cfs) from the W.P. Franklin Lock and Dam (S-79). Flows to the St. Lucie estuary remain at zero cfs as measured at the St. Lucie Lock and Dam (S-80).

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