algae bloom

St. Johns Riverkeeper Neil Armingeon spent three days on the St. Johns River and returned with pictures of algae blooms in Dunns Creek, Murphy Creek, Lake George and the St. Johns River. He alerted the St. Johns Water Management District and told them the Riverkeeper organization has also had reports of blooms in the St. Johns near Welaka. SRJWMD spokesperson Teresa Monson said the district has observed blooms forming in the past week or so and district scientists are beginning their annual algal sampling earlier than usual in the lower St. Johns River because of it. Samples will be tested for algal toxins, she assured Armingeon in an email. She also said that the public should alert SJWMD at algae@sjrwmd.com if you see algae while out on the river and its tributaries. Provide name, phone number and email address, as well as any information about location of the bloom, including photos and GPS coordinates if you have them.

On Monday, April 13, the St. Johns Riverkeeper is urging the public to attend the St. Johns River Water Management District governing board meeting in Palatka, 4099 Reid Street. The meeting begins at 1 p.m. The board will be voting on a permit from Seminole County to withdraw an average of 5.5-million gallons of water a day from the St. Johns River. This permit is the first in an alternative water supply program that could one day result in the withdrawal of more than 260-million gallons of water a day from the St. Johns and Ocklawaha rivers.

The St. Johns Riverkeeper is providing bus transport to the meeting. To reserve a seat, email Neil Armingeon at narming@ju.edu and type “Bus Trip” in the subject line.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 7th, 2009 at 3:05 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.