Cape Coral canals are helping researchers find what works

Scientists and officials are using Cape Coral’s cyanobacteria slicks as a living laboratory to test ways to fight freshwater algae blooms with potentially global impact.

A team including city staff and nationally prominent researchers have deployed a variety of algae-fighting measures in several canals, lakes and ponds on and around the Palmetto Pine Country Club's golf course.

They're testing floating barriers, sheets of absorbent foam and clay as ways to knock back the algae, about which Lee County’s health department has issued several warnings, including one Friday.

Though cyanobacteria is a naturally occurring microorganism, sometimes conditions conspire to create huge proliferations called blooms that can create problems that range from obnoxious to toxic.