Toxic Algae Not Yet a Threat To Gulf Shores

Consider ourselves lucky, but the toxic sludge hitting the east coast of Florida hasn’t made it’s way up to our little slice of paradise in Gulf Shores.

In case you missed the news, a thick scum has permeated the beautiful beaches of our neighbors to the southeast in Florida, and it’s caused a disastrous effect on both business and the environment.

The thick scum is toxic algae released from Lake Okeechobee through leaks in its dikes that then moved into adjacent waterways and ultimately ocean communities. The public and lawmakers are blaming the Federal government for failing to correct certain issues.

The visuals are one thing — it looks like miles and miles of guacamole has settled onto the surface of the ocean — but the smell is a whole other issue. Reports are that it stinks like raw sewage that has been cooking in an oven, as the hot sun has been beating down on the algae for some time now.

Florida, like Gulf Shores, is obviously a tourist destination. Much of the commerce generated by seaside communities is now affected by the unappealing algae that have seeped into the ecosystem and bloomed. Why would people pay to go to a nasty beach that smells like a toilet?

But as a threat to the tourism industry is one thing, the environmental hardship South Florida is facing is a whole other issue. Wildlife and fishing are significantly compromised, as animals and plants that come in contact with the algae are under attack from bacteria that exist.

The scary thing for the west side of the Gulf is that water flows through the Caloosahatchee River from Lake Okeechobee to Fort Myers, and the algae are starting to bloom on this side of the Gulf. People as far south of Sarasota have been told that they’re likely safe from harm, which is great news for Gulf Shores, but it’s merely a silver-lining in another round of environmentally devastating news for our region. We desperately root for clean water and favorable conditions for those in our area of the country, and we sincerely hope that our government figures out the issue before it spreads any further. We’ve lived that experience once, and don’t want to see anyone lose their coastal identity to a potentially preventable disaster like we did in 2010.

Anyways, keep safe and do your part to maintain a healthy environment, y’all. Let’s use this latest regional disaster to remind ourselves how precious what we have is.

If you ever have any questions regarding real estate in the Gulf Shores, Orange Beach or Fort Morgan areas, be sure to contact me at Century 21 Meyer – Kris Powell.

Thanks for reading!