Water releases aren’t expected anytime soon directly from Lake Okeechobee, according to the Army Corps of Engineers. Nevertheless, blue-green algal blooms are present on the lake, in the Caloosahatchee and along canals in Southwest Florida.
The blooms are raising fresh concerns about the air we breathe.
“This is our ADAM device. ADAM is an acronym that stands for Aerosol Detector for Algae Monitoring,” said Calusa Waterkeeper Captain Codty Pierce.
Pierce and ADAM are getting answers. Sampling the air to test for different types of cyanotoxins that may be present and how they correspond with seasonal trends.
“Rainfall, temperature, also coming off of a storm event,” said Pierce.
Most recently, ADAM was deployed near the Caloosahatchee in Alva and downstream in Cape Coral near Red Fish Point.
“When we choose spots to begin with, we’re looking for hotspots and normally have an accumulation of surface activity, you know, whether it’s blue-green algae or some other algae,” said Pierce.
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