“Here is the basin right now. It may not be the blue-green algae but I am willing to bet it has some of the same properties that created the algae bloom.” —Mary Radabaugh, Central Marine
Central Marine…the epicenter for the St Lucie River’s “Algae Crisis of 2016.” More photographed than a movie star, the marina became home-base for reporters, politicians, as well as state and federal agencies. All witnessed something beyond human imagination. It is something we will never forget…
Mary and Dutch Radabaugh, who manage Central Marine, bravely and eloquently handled the situation, and kept working….
Mary became the spokesperson for Martin County on local, state, national, and international media. Her confident and calm southern manner gave stability when it was difficult to breathe.
This year, in 2017, Mary has remained low-key. Although the ACOE is not discharging Lake Okeechobee waters in to the St Lucie River, the marina definitely has been showing signs of a possible coming bloom…
The “circus” too fresh in Mary’s memory, she has not spoken, until now.
The photos below are Mary’s; they are dated. As one can see, although there is no blue-green algae visible, there are the signs. The signs we learned to recognize in 2016. The bubbles, the foam, the nutrient swirls of seeming organization…
So, with no dumping where are the nutrient bubbles coming from? These nutrients (phosphorus and nitrogen) are known side effects from years of careless agriculture and development—- that feed the “algae…”
Is it there from last year, or before? Is is rising from the putrid muck of the river where the blooms sunk and died only to rise again?
Most important. Is it now endemic to the system? Will it affect our health?
~Just to look and see if we could follow the bubble/foam for Mary, Ed and I flew on Sunday, July 30th, from the St Lucie Locks to the St Lucie Inlet. It was early morning, and the light was not great, but one could see the intermittent bubble swirls like a gigantic serpent to the Inlet. In the video they are most visible rounding the peninsula of Sewall’s Point.
Mary just happened to be at the Sandbar and St Lucie Inlet on Sunday, just off Sewall’s Point. She texted a photo and wrote:
“I really have a hard time watching people swim in the water when it is that gross brown color. I truly believe if they were dumping the lake right now we would be way worse than last year. This that we are seeing I believe is remnants of algae settled in our river bottom being churned up in combination with natural runoffs. Keep up the documentation so when they do decide they need to open them we can show it will be a catastrophe to human health.”
Mary’s photos of dark river water flowing out towards the St Lucie Inlet, July 30th, 2017:
Mary’s photos since June 19th of the water changes at Central Marina, St Lucie River, Rio, Fl http://www.centralmarinestuart.com
Ed & Jacqui’s Flight from the St Lucie Locks and Dam to the St Lucie Inlet, July 30, 2017. “Chasing nutrient bubble/foam swirls….precursors to blooms?”
Video 1 https://youtu.be/2BpN5U_3XNM
(https://youtu.be/2BpN5U_3XNM)
Video 2 https://youtu.be/4uwAZvZpT6c
(https://youtu.be/4uwAZvZpT6c)
Photos from 2016, Central Marine Algae Crisis
I hope the local news stations cover this.
Me too!
My name is Peyton Pool and I have been working on solving the algae problem here in Florida. I was originally born and raised in Baltimore Md during the 60s to 2000 before moving to FL and live through the problems on the Chesapeake Bay. I started working for Premier Magnesia LLC in 1990 and used some of their Magnesium Oxide to help clear a couple of pond in MD and PA during the 90s when I was into bass fishing. I understood that the algae was being caused by the runoff nutrients and found that the main cause was the phosphate and nitrogen. If you use the natural mineral Magnesium Oxide and dust the water ways and banks that feed them you can stop the algae growth. What happens is the basically the water ways are just like a stomach that has over eaten too much of a good thing like when you were a kid. My mom use to give us Milk O Magnesia to settle our stomachs and neutralize the acids that were being generated. The way Magnesium works is that it is a tightly bound alkaline partial that only releases its hydrogen ion when it is attached by an acid. You can over dose with Magnesium and the pH will never go above 8.5 pH but at the surface of the partial of Magnesium the pH is 10.5 pH. When the Magnesium is applied to the water surface it mixes due to the current and wave action and comes into contact with the algae and breaks the cell wall absorbing the phosphate creating Magnesium-phosphate which is an inert partial that settles to the bottom and is there to help with the natural biological degradation of the organics through the photosynthesis process. As the organics breakdown they excrete acids that cause the growth of the Bluegreen algae and bacteria which become toxic. This happens when there is not enough alkalinity to let the photosynthesis process take place. By adding the Magnesium Oxide it has near double the alkalinity of lime, caustic or potash and is there in a tightly bound partial that will only release alkalinity as it is attached by the acids that are being produced. We are working with the Florida EPA and their Water Management Department to solve their problems and would love to see if we could help with your problems. The following is a simple chart and some pictures that show what is happening.
We presently supply many WWTP and Sewage collection systems in NY and throughout the country with the Natural Mineral Magnesium for treatment usage.
Please feel free to contact me anytime to discuss the algae problems.
Thank You,
Peyton Pool Sr.
Premier Magnesia LLC
717-476-7155