FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Rick Diaz or Patty
DiPiero, Lee County Utilities
(941) 479-8181
ALGAE IN OLGA PLANT WATER AFFECTS TASTE, BUT NOT A HEALTH RISK
FORT MYERS, Fla. (May 24, 2001) – Lee County Utilities is notifying residents that water from the Caloosahatchee River is experiencing an algae bloom that is causing potable water processed by the county’s Olga Water Treatment Plant to have an earthy, musty odor and taste.
However, the water is not a health risk and only affects the odor and taste.
The algae – identified as Lyngbya birgei – is caused by the low level of the river and it being relatively stagnant due to no fresh water releases from Lake Okeechobee. That combined with some recent rains flushing nutrients into the river and increased temperatures is causing the bloom.
The Olga Plant uses water from the river. The last time the plant experienced the Lyngbya birgei bloom was a decade ago during similar drought conditions. The bloom at that time lasted a little more than a month.
The Olga Water Treatment Plant serves the east Lee County and North Fort Myers areas.
Testing by the Department of Health indicates there are no bacteria counts in the water and the algae bloom is in fairly small quantities, however enough that it is noticeable by residents drinking the water. The bloom likely will go away when a more regular rainy season pattern can flush more water down the river.
The county currently is in the process of designing a new North Lee County Water Treatment Plant in North Fort Myers that will replace the Olga Plant in times of drought. Due to this drought the Olga Plant also has been experiencing saltwater intrusion. The new plant will process potable water by drawing brackish water from the Lower Hawthorne Aquifer and treating it through a reverse osmosis process. The new, $25-million plant is in the pre-design and permitting stages and is expected to come on line during 2003.
The county’s Utilities Division serves 48,500 water and 33,600 sewer customers in portions of North, East and South Lee County. The county operates five wastewater-treatment plants – Fort Myers Beach, Fiesta Village, Waterway Estates, Highpoint and Pine Island – with a total of 10-million gallons of capacity per day, and five water-treatment plants – College Parkway, Corkscrew, Green Meadows, Olga and Waterway Estates – with a combined 26-million gallons of capacity per day. The Utilities Division has an annual operating budget of about $27 million.