By Karl Havens, director, Florida Sea Grant
Editor’s note: A previous version of this story stated that the photo of the Lake Okeechobee algae bloom was taken on July 9, 2017. The photo was actually taken on July 9, 2018. The photo caption as been corrected.
NOAA satellite images from November 10, 2018 indicate that a blue-green algae bloom has decreased slightly in size to about 220 square miles or 40 percent of the open water area of the lake. The composition of the bloom, in regard to the kind of blue-green algae, is not known, nor are the level of toxins associated with it.
Update October 16, 2018 –
NOAA satellite images from October 14, 2018 indicate that a blue-green algae bloom continues to cover 47 percent, or 258 square miles, of the surface of Lake Okeechobee, with evidence that the intensity of the bloom has declined.
Update October 1, 2018 –
Do you want to know where water samples are taking place?
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) maintains a GIS map with blue-green algae sampling locations in Lake Okeechobee and the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie rivers and estuaries. The sampling map can be found a the following link: http://fdep.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=8af74a0a2de643bca3a58ad28989a30d
By clicking on a colored dot on the map, it is possible to obtain information about conditions at that sampling point and time, such as the amount of surface scum present and the kind of algae found in water samples. The map is updated by the FDEP as new data becomes available.
The most recent sampling in the estuaries was just a few days ago. But, sampling on Lake Okeechobee is not as frequent. The most recent water samples of Lake Okeechobee were taken on September 5 by the South Florida Water Management District. The lake samples indicate that on that date, the dominant kind of blue-green algae was Microcystis.
We had reported earlier that bloom samples in August were comprised of Anabaena, which can fix nitrogen from the atmosphere. The fact that Microcystis is now dominant in September means that there still is sufficient dissolved inorganic nitrogen in the water to support that algae, which cannot obtain nitrogen from the atmosphere. It may be that Microcystis blooms can rapidly recycle nitrogen in the water and are able to keep growing by that means when dissolved nitrogen runs low. This issue is under investigation.
Sampling in Lake Okeechobee is not as frequent as the rivers and estuaries, so it is not possible to say whether or not the same kind of algae are still dominant in the lake. Having more frequent data from the lake would be helpful because different kinds of blue-green algae produce different toxins with variable effects on fish, animals and potentially people.
While the focus of this thread has been on Lake Okeechobee, we will discuss the current situation in the Caloosahatchee and St Lucie Estuaries in a subsequent update.
Update September 24, 2018 –
The blue-green algae bloom in Lake Okeechobee is now growing again. As of September 20, 2018 it covered 55 percent of the open water area of the lake, or 550 square miles. This expansion is likely due to favorable weather with sunny days and just a light wind since the lake has plenty of phosphorus to fuel growth. The species we last observed on the lake, Anabaena, is able to acquire nitrogen from the atmosphere.
Update and recap September 10, 2018 –
NOAA satellite images from September 9 indicate that blue-green algae continues to bloom in the water or on the surface of a large part of Lake Okeechobee.
As more information has become available, we have a clearer picture of why 2018 has been such an extreme bloom year in Florida’s largest lake. In the past, the amount of algae-fueling phosphorus loaded into the lake hovered around 500 metric tons. This year that number exceeds 1,040 metric tons, the second highest phosphorous load into the lake in 45 years, according to data recently released by the South Florida Water Management District. A higher-than-average amount of nitrogen has also made its way into the lake.
Most of the nutrient-laden water flowed into the lake during a six- to eight-week period after Hurricane Irma last fall, and after heavy rains early this spring. The water has brought with it nutrients left in the soils, wetlands and bottoms of creeks from past agricultural activities that predate contemporary best management practices. The heavy rain has also brought nutrients from contemporary sources including agriculture, urban areas and perhaps leaking septic systems.
The hurricane stirred up nutrient-rich bottom sediments in Lake Istokpoga, located northwest of Lake Okeechobee, raising the level of phosphorus in the water. Phosphorus loads from Lake Istokpoga to Lake Okeechobee subsequently have risen to 118 metric tons, four times the long-term annual average. The Kissimmee Valley has also been heavily inundated, contributing another 305 metric tons of phosphorus to the lake — also four times the long-term annual average.
These nutrients have fueled a bloom in Lake Okeechobee that began with the hot sunny weather in June. The bloom had been dominated by Microcystis, a kind of blue-green algae that requires dissolved nitrogen and phosphorus in the water to grow. The bloom appeared to be going away in July, but then reappeared. Why? If blooms decline in summer, it’s often because they run out of nitrogen, unless a species that can obtain nitrogen from the atmosphere. Samples obtained in early August (see August 9 update) showed the resurgent bloom was dominated by Anabaena, a species that can obtain nitrogen from the atmosphere. Phosphorus concentrations can remain high during a bloom by recycling in the water.
It is unclear what the present composition of blue-green algae is in the lake, because water samples have not been taken recently. We will update if that information becomes available.
Interestingly, the Taylor Creek/Nubbin Slough, a subwatershed, had below-average nutrient loads into Lake Okeechobee. This subwatershed sits on the northeast edge of the lake. It’s important to note that this slough has experienced the most intensive agricultural nutrient control program by the state and the industry.
This year’s bloom illustrates the problems faced by the large lake ecosystem – the land that drains into it has a huge pent-up quantity of phosphorus and nitrogen. Flood control canals can rapidly carry those nutrients into the lake, causing blooms.
As noted in an earlier post, a wet hurricane or just a very wet spring – followed by a hot summer – can determine whether or not there will be a massive bloom on the lake. Nutrient control is critical, because we cannot control the weather. Climate change will only make the situation worse.
The positive results in the Taylor Creek/Nubbin Slough subwatershed are encouraging. State and federally-funded projects continue in the entire Lake Okeechobee watershed in an attempt to control nutrient and water inputs into the lake from various source regions.
Completion of projects in the Lake Okeechobee watershed and the decline in blue-green blooms in the lake is decades away. The mandated target load for phosphorus from the watershed to the lake is 105 metric tons. But the actual load of around 500 metric tons has not declined for decades. The target phosphorus concentration for the lake water is 40 parts per billion. This concentration has risen markedly since the 1980s and is routinely more than 100 parts per billion. Nitrogen inputs are also an important factor for blue-green algae blooms in this large lake; they are not as explicitly considered as phosphorus inputs at this time.
We will continue to post updates on the bloom as they are available.
Update August 21, 2018 –
The most recent NOAA satellite image from August 17 indicates that the cyanobacteria bloom on Lake Okeechobee is holding steady – at approximately 50 percent of the lake surface area.
Update August 16, 2018 –
NOAA satellite images from August 14 indicate that the blue-green algae bloom now covers 50 percent of the surface of Lake Okeechobee. This is interesting because a strong line of thunderstorms crossed the lake late on Friday, which could have disrupted the bloom by mixing mud into the water column, starving the algae of light. However, this was not the case and instead the bloom still seems very robust. It is hard to predict when it will decline. Blue-green algae blooms like warm water, and they outcompete other kinds of algae when the water is very warm. Therefore, unless a tropical storm or hurricane halts the bloom, it might take the onset of colder water in the late fall or winter to end it.
Update August 10, 2018 –
The most recent August 9 satellite image from NOAA indicates that the resurging blue-green algae bloom is continuing to expand in its coverage and intensity on Lake Okeechobee. It is estimated that the bloom now covers 45 percent of the lake. We use the word resurging because two weeks ago the bloom appeared to be dissipating – perhaps due to weather conditions or because the algae ran out of dissolved nitrogen in the lake water. We speculated that the bloom might reemerge and be dominated by a species, like Anabaena, that could obtain the nitrogen it needs to grow from the atmosphere. The last update confirmed that this predicted change in the kind of algae did happen, and this latest image indicates that the bloom is steadily growing in size.
Update August 9, 2018 –
On August 7, Dail Laughinghouse, an assistant professor of applied phycology at the UF/IFAS Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center, collected water samples from Lake Okeechobee. He found the samples of blue-green algae included: three species of Microcystis, which dominated the bloom that started in June and six species of Anabaena.
As noted earlier, it is impossible to say how long the bloom will persist, because it is controlled in part by wind, rain and cloud cover, which are unpredictable. However, the bloom now includes Anabaena, a species that can obtain, or fix, the nitrogen it needs from the atmosphere. With continued sunny days, warm water, abundant phosphorus from the lake sediments and an unlimited source of nitrogen from the atmosphere, this bloom has the ingredients it needs to grow. This is different from the original bloom of Microcystis, which needed nitrogen from the lake water. Our original post below explains the various sources of both nitrogen and phosphorus in the lake.
Update August 1, 2018 –
A recent analysis of water samples from Lake Okeechobee by the South Florida Water Management District indicates that the algae bloom on the lake is dominated by Microcystis and also by Anabaena, a cyanobacteria that is able to obtain nitrogen from the atmosphere. Appearance of Anabaena is consistent with the hypothesis that the bloom is going through a replacement cycle, where Microcystis has used up the nitrogen in the lake water and is being replaced by a different kind of algae that can get its nitrogen from the atmosphere, like Anabaena. Given the scarcity of data, it is unlikely that a rigorous test of this hypothesis ever will be possible.
Update July 30, 2018 –
NOAA satellite images from July 29 indicate that the algae bloom in Lake Okeechobee is growing. On July 26, the bloom covered about 30 percent the lake. On July 29, the bloom covered 220 square miles or approximately 40 percent of the lake.
Update, July 27, 2018 –
NOAA satellite images from July 22, 25 and 26 indicate a progressive expansion of the bloom on Lake Okeechobee from 10 to 20 to 30 percent coverage of the lake. We do not know whether or not this indicates a recovery of the bloom, a second phase where another species of cyanobacteria is forming a new bloom, or just natural variability over a few days.
Update, July 20, 2018 – The massive algae bloom that covered nearly all of Lake Okeechobee a week ago appears to be undergoing a change based on satellite images from July 17 and 18. Those successive images suggest a progressive decline in the spatial extent of the bloom. At this time it is unclear what is happening due to a lack of data.
Based on research conducted in other lakes, there are a couple of reasons why the bloom may be shrinking. First, the Microcystis bloom in Lake Okeechobee might have used up all of the dissolved inorganic nitrogen in the water and now it is figuratively starving. Second, and somewhat related, it might be that the bloom is going through a replacement cycle, where Microcystis will be replaced by a different kind of algae that can get its nitrogen from the atmosphere, such as Anabaena. That species of blue-green algae has formed large blooms in Okeechobee in past years.
Because the state of Florida does not have a systematic and comprehensive algae bloom monitoring program in the lake, with sampling frequent enough to determine what is happening, we may never know the cause of the observed changes.
Original post starts here:
Since early June, massive blooms of blue-green algae, or cyanobacteria, have formed at the surface and in the water column of Lake Okeechobee, and the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers and estuaries.
These ecosystems are connected by a series of canals, and when water in the lake rises to a high level, it is discharged to the estuaries.
As noted in an earlier Florida Sea Grant article, large amounts of rainfall from Hurricane Irma, and an abnormally wet spring in 2018 have likely moved high concentrations of water and algae-fueling nitrogen and phosphorus into those ecosystems.
The watersheds of all three ecosystems contain large sources of nutrients due to historical and current land uses, including agriculture and septic systems. When runoff does happen, water from all three places has the potential to fuel blooms.
In Lake Okeechobee, Hurricane Irma may have also stirred up lake-bottom sediments, introducing even more phosphorus into the water. Once the long, sunny days of summer began, the water heated up, allowing blooms to form on a large scale.
As of July 14, blooms covered nearly all of Lake Okeechobee, and were either on the water surface or just below the surface. This widespread coverage, which can be seen in satellite imagery produced by Richard Stumpf of the NOAA National Ocean Service, has persisted since late June, and does not appear to be abating.
Scientists are not certain when the blooms will end. Since sunlight is an essential ingredient for blooms of this scale, the bloom can be long-lasting unless disrupted by multiple days of cloudy weather, a tropical storm, or colder weather in the late fall.
We will continue to provide updated maps showing bloom coverage of Lake Okeechobee based on NOAA satellite imagery, and report on any substantive changes.
Blooms have also been reported in multiple locations in the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers and estuaries, raising concerns about negative impacts to the regional water-dependent economies, as well as human health effects of contact with the water.
This photo taken July 9, 2018 shows a heavy surface algae bloom along the western shore of Lake Okeechobee. Photo courtesy South Florida Water Management District.
The composition of the blooms has not been documented at every location. According to Barry Rosen, a biologist with the United States Geological Survey, the toxin-producing species Microcystis aeruginosa and Microcystis viridis are dominant at some locations in the lake and also at a location where a sample was taken from the Caloosahatchee River. Both of the Microcystis species have the potential to form blooms.
Are water discharges from Lake Okeechobee to blame for the blooms in the rivers and estuaries?
Finding the same kind of blue-green algae dominating the blooms in the lake and in one of the estuaries neither confirms nor negates a physical connection. Microcystis is a common bloom-former in lakes across the United States, Europe and Asia. Therefore, based on this data alone, we cannot say that the lake seeded the estuaries with a bloom.
On average, 60 percent of the total fresh water going into both the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee estuaries originates from the local watersheds, and 40 percent originates from Lake Okeechobee. The long-term average percentages for nutrient inputs are about the same.
The percentages at any given time can, of course, differ. For example if lake water is discharged during a time when there is no local watershed runoff, the lake contribution of fresh water and nutrients will be much higher than those of the local watersheds.
Normally, a drop in estuary salinity shortly after lake discharges begin is a sign that Lake Okeechobee is affecting the estuaries. In 2018, the relationship is more complicated, and the lake discharges may not be definitively connected to blooms, particularly in the St. Lucie Estuary. When heavy rainfall fell over the St. Lucie watershed, the salinity dropped to zero before discharges of water from the lake began. On the other hand, lake discharges may have contributed substantially to a drop in salinity and nutrient inputs to the Caloosahatchee.
Actually since the rivers and estuaries are nutrient-rich, and low salinity is needed to allow blooms of the aforementioned species of blue-green algae, conditions supportive of blooms existed in both estuaries before lake discharges began.
This July 9, 2018 photo of the C-44 canal, one of the major waterways from Lake Okeechobee into the St. Lucie River, shows algae just below the water surface and accumulating along the shore. Photo courtesy South Florida Water Management District.
The solution to the algal bloom problem is to clean up the nutrient sources north of Lake Okeechobee and in the land around the two estuaries. Control of dispersed sources of nutrients in those watersheds will be a huge challenge and while projects are underway by the state to accomplish them, it could take decades before substantive results are seen.
Florida Sea Grant maintains this page on algae blooms in Florida, which can be bookmarked for future reference. Visit: https://archive.flseagrant.org/algae-blooms/.
Karl Havens has 35 years’ experience in aquatic research, education and outreach, and has worked with Florida aquatic ecosystems and the use of objective science in their management for the past 23 years. His area of research specialty is the response of aquatic ecosystems to natural and human-caused stressors, including hurricanes, drought, climate change, eutrophication, invasive species and toxic materials. He is a recipient of the Edward Deevey, Jr. Award from the Florida Lake Management Society for his research dealing with Florida lake ecosystems.
