Tests on algae from Martin County this week show that the amount of toxins are 15 times higher than what’s considered hazardous and the Health Department has issued an advisory to keep people out of the water where algae is present.
Congressman Brian Mast spoke with us this morning on the topic.
“It’s a ridiculous number. This is something that causes everything from nausea to liver failure and it is a willing and knowing poison that’s going into our community.”
The algae is coming from Lake Okeechobee discharges and Mast says he’s urging Governor Rick Scott to request that the Trump administration to make the algae crisis a federal emergency.
Meanwhile, those discharges had been suspended for around two weeks, but we are learning that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to resume the water releases tomorrow.