Home Business Gov Declares State Of Emergency Over “Guacamole-thick” Algae (Video)

Gov Declares State Of Emergency Over “Guacamole-thick” Algae (Video)

algae
Boats docked at Central Marine in Stuart, are surrounded by blue green algae on Wednesday. Gov. Rick Scott has declared a state of emergency for the area and on Thursday the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said it would reduce the flow of foul Lake Okeechobee water down the St. Lucie River. (Greg Lovett AP)

A smelly, “guacamole-thick” muck of algae is fast spreading in the waters of Florida’s Treasure Coast, where angry residents blame the federal government, state water managers and Florida Gov. Rick Scott for yet another spiraling environmental catastrophe.

The choking blue-green algae bloom is the latest contamination of the coastal waters caused by water releases from Lake Okeechobee intended to protect its aging dike.

Scott declared an emergency for Martin and St. Lucie counties on Wednesday and extended that to cover Palm Beach County and Lee County on the West Coast on Thursday. But for many, it was a gesture considered too little, too late in communities that have been repeatedly hammered by foul lake released over the last decade.

At Central Marine boat docks in Stuart on Thursday, pea-green and brown algae coated the water and smelled strongly like cow manure. Blooms that started last week in the St. Lucie River continue to spread, washing up under the docks of waterfront homes and marinas and threatening Atlantic beaches expected to draw crowds of families for the holiday weekend.

 


By Miami Herald Staff and Wire Reports, Miami Herald excerpt posted on SouthFloridaReporter.com July 1, 2016 

Video by AP from Inform.com