Florida Governor Rick Scott declared a state of emergency on June 29, 2016, for Martin, St. Lucie, Lee and Palm Beach Counties due to an algae bloom in Florida beaches and waterways. This has caused many health and environmental concerns throughout not only the areas that are affected but the entire state as well. The algae bloom is caused due to discharge into Lake Okeechobee. The Army Corps of Engineers watch over the water level of the lake and when it gets too high, they decide to release the water into the St. Lucie Canal, which goes into the St. Lucie River and in turn runs into the ocean and other waterways. The Corps must release the water to prevent flooding the surrounding areas where residents live.

However, the Army Corps of Engineers do not check the water quality of the lake before releasing it into other waterways. There are many ways that the lake’s quality is polluted, such as many farms depositing manure into Lake Okeechobee, along with many homes emptying their septic tanks into the lake and the fertilizer runoff from residential homes and farms. These all contribute to making a perfect breeding ground for blooming algae. And what is most alarming is that this is not the first time that this has happened, but it is the worst amount of pollution that has affected the area. Nobody is regulating the amount of pollution being deposited into the lake and instead of dealing with it, the Corps has decided to just push the water away into other waterways that ultimately affect us.

The algae bloom has not only affected the waterways but the wildlife and families in the area as well. The waterways are already being overtaken by the algae bloom due to the polluted water entering the canal systems and rivers. However, these rivers are homes to fish, manatees and other living creatures. And these river animals are not the only ones harmed, because the polluted water is being deposited into the ocean, and the algae can ultimately affect our coral reefs. And now it has begun to affect the beaches and nearby citizens living off the coastline. These people have begun to suffer from health problems due to the putrid water which can contaminate individuals if they swim in the water. This has caused many beaches that have been affected to be closed, and the tourist cities around this area are being avoided which cause local businesses to lose profit.

Many believe the government and political leadership are to blame. The government and leadership involved to help make Florida a better state for its citizens should have made better policies that would prevent the algae from growing into such a problem. There was already an issue with the algae bloom, and yet they did not come up with any type of action to prevent it from happening again and here we are. Local businesses are losing profits and will have to close and the locals will eventually be forced to move if it keeps happening. Their businesses will tank, and it will be the government’s fault. And then there is the fact that the algae bloom has begun to affect peoples’ health. The government and political leadership could have taken action and had the time to do so, and yet toxic algae is affecting the people and wildlife in the area. The government needs to take action rather than just declaring a state of emergency and monitoring the situation. Somebody in political leadership needs to take charge of the situation and come up with a solution where this will not happen again.