Severity of blue-green algae in Lee County prompts halt of water releases from Lake O

LEE COUNTY – More than 300 square miles of Lake Okeechobee are covered in algae. That’s enough to cover the entire city of New York.

It comes as blue-green algae blooms are popping up in Cape Coral and North Fort Myers. The sludge was spotted in Whiskey Creek on the Caloosahatchee this weekend, although these blooms are not a result of Lake Okeechobee.

The matter is so serious it has the Army Corps of Engineers promising it won’t release any water from the lake until it completes an “algae assessment.”

The Army Corps of Engineers sampled 29 locations and said 20 of the sites had algal bloom conditions, some worse than others.

These algae assessments will determine if and when water is released from Lake Okeechobee.

Colonel James Booth said the Army Corps is taking the current situation into account as decisions are made weekly.

“If we have an active bloom at our structures, we will hold up releases until it disperses,” Booth announced.

However, none of the current blooms in Lee County are a result of Lake O releases since there have been no significant water releases this summer.