Health dept. issues alert for Caloosahatchee River due to bacteria in algae

LEE COUNTY, Fla.- A health alert has been issued for the Caloosahatchee River.

The water near Franklin Lock and dam is off limits for now. The Department of Environmental Protection says they found potentially harmful bacteria in the algae there.

The Florida Department of Health in Lee County says people need to be cautious before exposing themselves to the river’s water.

“The first thing I noticed was the smell, and then I saw it,” said Jaclyn Carrington.

Carrington is concerned about the algae taking over the canal behind her home in Alva.

“We usually have a lot of creatures going up and down the canal. Haven’t seen any kind of wildlife. I don’t think it’s healthy probably for us to breathe and I don’t know what it’s doing to our groundwater or anything like that,” said Carrington.

The algae is coming from Lake Okeechobee. Because of it, the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers has shut down beaches along Franklin Lock and telling people to stay out of the water.

“Certainly public safety is our highest priority. Don’t want people to have a bad experience with they come to corp facility,” said John Campbell.

The department tested algae upstream from last week and found bacteria that could cause rashes and other health problems. Algae found downstream, near where Carrington lives, tested negative.

Still the corp says you can never be too careful.

“Anything that gets in the water is usually not healthy and it just keep getting worse and worse.”

The health department says they retested some of the algae from Franklin Lock Thursday, and will have those results next week.