Tom Hayden

Fort Myers News-Press / USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida

The ongoing water crisis of 2018 comes at significant costs to our environment and our economy. Now, we have another reason to worry: our health may be greatly impacted as well.

A recently completed FGCU study on the health implications from the massive thick carpets of blue-green algae blooms came with these sobering findings: it is likely the toxins inhaled by many can go deep into the lungs. What the study can’t determine at this point is what the long-term health impacts might be. That’s why more studies must be done; humans and animals must continue to be tested for months, and probably years, to come. The loss to our environment and the billions lost to businesses is significant enough but the potential loss of human life because of this air-borne poison could have catastrophic implications.

The worry comes from the unknown. There isn’t enough scientific or medical evidence to know the exact health implications. Yes, we know blue-green algae toxins (also called cyanotoxins) are some of the deadliest on the planet. “They cause death at dosage levels in the low parts per billion range … more potent than strychnine, curare and sarin (a nerve gas)," said the late Kenneth Hudnell in testimony to Congress in 2008.

But cyanotoxins are not regulated, like harmful pesticides or cleaning chemicals. There aren’t numeric guidelines for what may be acceptable or unacceptable levels. That’s why research must continue to determine what doses – inhaled, swallowed or in contact with the skin – will lead to significant health issues. We all know that swimming in polluted water would not be the smartest thing to do. What we don’t know is how much is too much to breathe in. The enormous density of this year’s blooms in big and small waterways have created a series of medical unknowns.

Where do we go from here?

We know from the FGCU study, released this week, and from another done by Florida Atlantic University’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute last month that the toxins are appearing in nasal passages, in the mouth, in the throat and in the lungs. That’s why, beyond these pilot studies, much more comprehensive research, along with clinical studies, must be done by the medical community, health departments, DEP and experts at universities.

This isn’t a one-time health crisis. The significance of this year’s blooms should serve as a warning of what may be ahead. These types of algae blooms could reappear next year given the right circumstances. Red tide remains a natural phenomenon and depending on wind and tide will also be around. As long as harmful nutrients from pesticides and fertilizers flow into our waterways and there remains a lack of significant regulation on poorly maintained septic systems – all of which can fuel algae blooms – we will continue to face these environmental, economic and health risks.

In June 2017, the Conservancy of Southwest Florida published an estuary report card, giving grades to water quality in various waterways across Southwest Florida. None had a grade above a C plus. The Caloosahatchee, Estero Bay, Pine Island Sound, Naples Bay and Wiggins Pass/Cocohatchee all had Ds. The grades were based on the amounts of pollutants in the water, specifically nitrogen and phosphorous, and how those harmful nutrients are adversely impacting the health of our waterways and marine life.

The Conservancy is calling for an update to current standards for new housing developments, mainly because we are not enforcing environmental standards on developments we have now. Conservancy research has determined that there needs to be an update to the stormwater rules. New developments are supposed to have retention ponds, water treatment components and other environmental features designed to keep 80 percent of any pollutants onsite. The Conservancy says best management practices for many developments are only hitting 40 to 70 percent. There isn’t enforcement of stormwater rules beyond what is initially permitted. New standards, like better swale systems and other treatment components, must be implemented and enforced.

Many Florida counties, including Lee, have good fertilizer ordinances that limit the amount of phosphorus and nitrogen that can be used, but how those ordinances are being enforced is less clear. Most government staffs do not have the resources to do comprehensive checks of resident and commercial properties to determine if regulations are being followed. Good ordinances should be well regulated and stiff fines imposed if rules are not being followed.

There must be stronger enforcement of regulations on agricultural lands still abusing the environment by allowing harmful nutrients from chemicals and from animal feces to flow into waterways.

New regulations for annual maintenance of septic systems must be imposed, and state and federal governments must develop ways to ease the cost of such inspections with commercial and residential credits.

Fertilizers, insecticides and poor septic systems are fueling algae blooms or cyanobacteria. It’s not just from Lake Okeechobee discharges into the Caloosahatchee.

The Caloosahatchee Reservoir (C-43) can help reduce the blooms but not unless the state adds a treatment component to the 55-billion-gallon storage project. It does more harm than good to store polluted water and then release that harmful water back into the river in dry season when it is needed. This billion-dollar project needs more money to build a treatment area or this project will be ineffective.

Updating certain environmental standards and enforcing what is on the books now can help eliminate the algae blooms. The bigger projects – the ones years down the road – like C-43 and the Everglades Agricultural Area reservoir, along with storage wells and treatment facilities will be the long-term answers. We need all of it – the things that can be done now and the things that are in our environmental future – to save our environment, economy and protect our health.

Tom Hayden, Senior Engagement Editor at The News-Press, writes this editorial on behalf of the editorial board.



