Lingering Blue-Green Algae in Lake Okeechobee

FOR MONTHS. A PERSISTENT BLUE GREEN ALGAE BLOOM HAS COVERED SECTIONS OF LAKE OKEECHOBEE AND NOW WE'RE FINDING OUT THERE MAY BE NO END IN SIGHT. EARLIER THIS MONTH, AERIAL IMAGES CAPTURED A MASSIVE ACT OF BLOOM THAT COVERS ABOUT 240 MILES OF THE LARGEST FRESH WATER LAKE IN FLORIDA, ACCORDING TO THE FLORIDA WATER QUALITY DASHBOARD SINCE SEPTEMBER. FIRST BLUE GREEN ALGAE TOXINS WERE FOUND IN MULTIPLE SAMPLES TAKEN FROM THE LAKE. TOM BAYLISS SENIOR ENVIRONMENTAL REPORTER HAS BEEN FOLLOWING THE BLUE GREEN ALGAE BLOOM ON LAKE OKEECHOBEE. AND TOM, IT JUST DOES NOT SEEM TO WANT TO GO AWAY AND IT IS OF GREAT CONCERN. >> YEAH, JENNIFER, THIS BEEN UNUSUALLY LONG LASTING AND LARGE BLOOM. OUR VIDEO SHOWS LAKE OKEECHOBEE IN JULY WHEN MORE THAN HALF OF IT WAS COVERED WITH PATCHES AND STREAKS OF BLUE GREEN ALGAE. NOW IT'S SEPTEMBER. AND HEALTH OFFICIALS ARE STILL FINDING TOXINS AND PARTS OF THE LAKE. THIS IS WHAT LAKE OKEECHOBEE LOOKS LIKE FROM THE AIR. RALPH R WORD IS A VOLUNTEER PILOT FOR CALUSA WATERKEEPER WHO FLIES ENVIRONMENTAL MISSIONS AND SHARES HIS VIDEO AT WTC. YOU. IN JULY, OUR WOOD SAID MORE THAN HALF OF THE LAKE WAS COVERED BY THE BLUE. HE CALLED IT PRETTY CLOSE TO THE WORST HE'D SEEN AND IT IS NOT GOING AWAY. STATE HEALTH OFFICIALS HAVE AN ACTIVE HEALTH ALERT IN PLACE AFTER WATER. QUALITY TESTS FOUND BLUE GREEN ALGAE TOXINS IN PARTS OF THE LAKE. WARM WATER, SUNLIGHT AND STILL CONDITIONS ALONG WITH EXCESS NUTRIENTS. HELP THE BACTERIA MULTIPLY INTO LARGE BLOOMS. THIS YEAR, SOUTH FLORIDA'S LONG DROUGHT ALSO DRIVES THE LAKE DOWN TO AROUND 11 FEET MORE THAN 2 FEET BELOW NORMAL THIS SUMMER. PART OF THE NORTHERN LAKE BED EVEN DRIED OUT ENOUGH TO BURN. THE LAKE HAS RISEN SOME BUT REMAINS LOW. NOW A LOW WATER DOES NOT CAUSE BLUE GREEN ALGAE BY A SOUTH BUT A SHALLOW WARM LAKE CREATES CONDITIONS. THE ORGANISMS LIKE AND THAT'S WHERE THEY CAN THRIVE. DECADES OF RUNOFF HAVE LEFT A LEGACY OF PHOSPHORUS AND NITROGEN IN THE WATERSHED AND THEN THE LAKE. BOTTOM UP. >> AND TOM, THERE'S ALSO CONCERN ABOUT THE BLUE GREEN ALGAE MAKING ITS WAY AND REACHING THE CALOOSAHATCHEE RIVER. >> THE GROUPS INCLUDING CAPTAINS FOR CLEAN WATER, THE SANIBEL CAPTIVA CONSERVATION FOUNDATION, THE CONSERVANCY OF SOUTHWEST FLORIDA AND CALUSA WATERKEEPER HAVE WARNED FOR YEARS ABOUT THE DAMAGE. HARMFUL ALGAE CAN CAUSE. BUT THERE'S AN IMPORTANT DIFFERENCE THIS YEAR. THE LAKE IS LOW. WATER MANAGERS ARE NOT FACING A LAKE SO HIGH THAT THEY HAVE TO SEND HUGE AMOUNTS OF WATER DOWN THE CALOOSAHATCHEE FOR FLOOD CONTROL. SO THERE'S NO INDICATION RIGHT NOW THAT THIS BLOOM IS ABOUT TO PRODUCE A REPEAT OF 2018. THE IMMEDIATE PROBLEM IS INSIDE THE LAKE WHERE THE BLUE GREEN ALGAE INTO TOXINS ARE STILL BEING FOUND. >> SO WHERE DOES THE EXTENT OF THE BLOOM SAID NOW? >> IT'S NOT WHERE IT WAS AT ITS PEAK IN JULY, JENNIFER, BUT IT'S NOT OVER. THE LAKE HAS COME UP SOME WITH SOME RAIN, BUT IT REMAINS LOW. AND SEPTEMBER HEALTH ALERT SHOW THE BLUE GREEN ALGAE TOXINS ARE STILL PRESENT. A MASSIVE SUMMER BLOOM IS LINGERING INTO THE FALL. >> TOM, THANK YOU FOR THE