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More algae confirmed in St. Lucie; toxicity tests to follow

Stuart News - 6/7/2018

More and bigger algae blooms are being reported in the South Fork of the St. Lucie River, six days after discharges from Lake Okeechobee began.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection reported finding algae Wednesday at the St. Lucie Lock and Dam, where a mixture of discharged Lake O water and rainfall runoff from western Martin County is pouring into the river.

A water sample was to be sent overnight to the DEP lab in Tallahassee to determine whether it's blue-green algae, the type that blanketed the river's estuary in 2016, and if it contains toxins.

A DEP crew had looked at the dam Monday afternoon, but didn't find any algae, according to the DEP's algae bloom reporting site.

Results of similar tests on algae DEP collected Monday at the Port Mayaca Lock and Dam, where lake water is discharged into the canal leading to the St. Lucie River, were not available Wednesday evening.

Meanwhile, the small algae bloom reported Tuesday at the Riverland Mobile Home Park boat ramp on Kanner Highway has grown substantially, said groundskeeper Tom Nolin.

About a foot wide at the foot of the ramp Tuesday, the bloom was about 10 feet to 12 feet wide Wednesday, Nolin said.

"And you can see the green strands of algae coming into the marina from the river as the water passes by," he said.

A DEP crew took samples of the algae at Riverland early Wednesday afternoon.

The crew reported finding no algae Wednesday at the Roosevelt Bridge in downtown Stuart, Leighton Park in Palm City and at the C-24 Canal in Port St. Lucie, where foamy brown water has been seen since the weekend.

A small algae bloom was reported to TCPalm Wednesday morning at a private community dock at the end of Southwest South River Drive in Stuart.

"It's about a 10-square-foot area along the dock," Robert Yago, a South River Drive resident, said of the bloom. "And from the dock you can see the algae as it's moving down the river."

Report algae sightings

Florida Department of Environmental Protection at 855-305-3903 or floridadep.gov/dear/algal-bloom

Tyler Treadway, Treasure Coast Newspapers/TCPalm.com at 772-221-4219 or tyler.treadway@tcpalm.com.