By Elliott Jones of TCPalm
June 26, 2016
Martin and St. Lucie County officials are appealing to state officials to test the water at local beaches after swimmers were warned Saturday and Sunday to stay out of the water because of potentially harmful algae.
Officials in both counties are appealing to the Florida Department of Environmental Regulation to test the water, to see what type of algae is present and whether it is a harmful blue-green algae that is believed to be linked to freshwater discharges from Lake Okeechobee.
In the meantime, said Rene Rouse, spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Health in Martin County, “We are just telling people to avoid the water as a precaution.”
The algae first started appearing off Stuart on Friday, then spread northward in Martin County. On Sunday, it was seen in southern St. Lucie County, prompting the county to advise people to only swim north of the Florida Power and Light Co. nuclear power plant south of Fort Pierce.
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