Toxic algae in C-25 Canal in Fort Pierce; Lake Okeechobee discharges resumed late
Tyler Treadway
A blue-green algae bloom in the C-25 Canal in northern Fort Pierce contains minute amounts of toxins, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection reported Friday.
A water sample taken Monday from the canal near the 25th Street bridge contained the toxin microcystin at a level of 0.33 parts per billion.
The World Health Organization considers water with 1 part per billion to be safe to drink and up to 10 parts per billion to be safe under normal recreational contact.
More: Health effects of blue-green algae blooms need study, says hospital CEO
The C-25 Canal drains mostly farmland in northwestern St. Lucie County and empties into the Indian River Lagoon via Taylor Creek in northern Fort Pierce.
Algae was "visible on the water" in the canal, according to the DEP's algae-monitoring website.
More:Algae's popping up throughout the Treasure Coast | Map
Not from Lake O
The canal is not connected to Lake Okeechobee, which currently has an algae bloom that covers about 90 percent of the 730-square-mile lake.
More: Lake Okeechobee discharges to resume
The Army Corps of Engineers was scheduled to resume Lake Okeechobee discharges to the St. Lucie River about 7 a.m. Friday after a 13-day hiatus. But the Corps couldn't release water from the lake Friday morning because the lake elevation was lower than water in the C-44 Canal, which runs to the river.
Instead, the Corps opened gates in the St. Lucie Lock and Dam, the conduit for lake water into the St. Lucie River.
That water contains highly toxic levels of microcystin — 15 times the level deemed safe for recreational contact, according to the DEP.
More:Highly toxic algae reported in C-44 Canal
By early Friday afternoon, the C-44 was low enough, and lake water began flowing east toward the St. Lucie River again.
The average flow through the dam into the river over the next two weeks will be 1.1 billion gallons a day, the Corps announced Thursday. The 14-day average flow west to the Caloosahatchee River will be 1.9 billion gallons a day.