The problem here is once again we are treating the symptom and not the cause, which is excessive nutrients from fertilizer and septics. In addition, they put unspecified chemicals into the water which perhaps are toxic to its inhabitants.
Money spent here could be applied to treating the well-known cause of algae.
Read the complete article here at Wesh2 News.
Comments by OSFR historian Jim Tatum.
jim.tatum@oursantaferiver.org
– A river is like a life: once taken,
it cannot be brought back © Jim Tatum
AECOM Algae Harvester Ship works to clean up Indian River Lagoon
But what’s on it and what it’s designed to do is much more than meets the eye.
Pinelli is on the team that built the AECOM Algae Harvester Ship.
It’s part of a program by Brevard County Natural Resources Management and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
Those algae blooms, fed by nutrients like fertilizer flowing into the lagoon, are thought to be behind fish kills.
“And it’s also suspected that the algae blooms inhibit the growth of the seagrass that is so important to the manatee population,” Pinelli said. “We put some chemical additive in the water to cause the algae cells and other contaminants to agglomerate, then we can float them out.”
It can be converted into bio-fertilizer or even into bio-crude oil.
This is a test project that will last a couple of weeks, then ultimately, the harvester will be deployed when there are algae blooms but also on a rotating basis throughout the lagoon to control the level of algae.
One of the advantages of the testing being done on the lagoon is that there are a wide range of water types: fresh water, salt water and various levels of brackish conditions.
“The Indian River Lagoon has been an issue for a while, so we are really hoping that we can make an impact here,” said Trevor Campbell of AECOM.
There’s also the hope that after this testing, more of the harvesters will be produced and deployed across Florida and start the job of making the state’s waterways cleaner for swimming, fishing and the natural habitat.
