Perhaps faulty septic tanks cause algae blooms after all

algae bloom 07.12.16

While much has changed in Florida over the years, for environmentalists, one thing has remained somewhat constant — polluted discharges from Lake Okeechobee.

And when they point fingers at what is causing the recent toxic blue-green algae blooms plaguing the Treasure Coast, agriculture has reliably been held up as one of the “usual suspects.”

For many activists, the real danger is decades of water laden with phosphorus and fertilizer runoff; other factors, like failing septic tanks, rarely get the blame.

But is that indeed the case? Not everyone agrees.

Take Jacksonville’s St. John’s River, the longest river in the state of Florida at more than 300 miles. Lake Okeechobee does not discharge into the St. John’s River, but the two waterways share something in common — similar threats from algae blooms.

A recent exposé by the News 4 Jax I-TEAM has found that despite a 10-year effort, failing septic tanks around the city continue to leach sewage into the water, accelerating algae blooms similar to the ones occurring further south.

Along Doctors Inlet, algae bloom has been so toxic that biologists claim it could kill a small animal or make anyone who consumes the algae very sick.

“It was highly toxic,” St. Johns Riverkeeper Lisa Rinaman told reporters. “In fact, it was 120 times more toxic than safe recreational standards set by the World Health Organization.”

Rinaman attributes St. John’s algae blooms to a number of factors: over-fertilized yards, industrial pollutants and Jacksonville’s more than 20,000 failing septic tanks.

Septic tanks, you say?

This environmental calamity has been a persistent threat to the St. John’s, even after the city updated its master stormwater management plan, with additional retention ponds to handle stormwater runoff.

Nevertheless, News 4 Jax reporters discovered that of 21,000 deteriorating septic tanks identified in the city plan, only about 1,000 have been phased out.

Even as environmentalists are quick to blame agricultural phosphorus for the current woes in the waterways south of Lake O, other studies found that agriculture represents only a fraction of the current phosphorus levels.

And no less than the state of Florida recognizes that failing septic tanks are a factor; the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports that the state is considering a proposal to provide matching grants for homeowners that switch from septic tanks to central sewer systems, eliminating at least one substantial source of phosphorus from entering waterways.

So after decades of the narrative from environmentalists saying agriculture causes Lake O-based algae blooms, it may be time to admit that perhaps septic tanks cause algae blooms after all.

Peter Schorsch

Peter Schorsch is the President of Extensive Enterprises and is the publisher of some of Florida’s most influential new media websites, including Florida Politics and Sunburn, the morning read of what’s hot in Florida politics. Schorsch is also the publisher of INFLUENCE Magazine. For several years, Peter's blog was ranked by the Washington Post as the best state-based blog in Florida. In addition to his publishing efforts, Peter is a political consultant to several of the state’s largest governmental affairs and public relations firms. Peter lives in St. Petersburg with his wife, Michelle, and their daughter, Ella.


3 comments

  • Gary

    September 23, 2016 at 2:04 pm

    The newly patented SolarOrganite® process will eliminates septic tank waste from toilets and septic tanks. The process is fueled only by the sun using the SolarOrganite® Process. The Waste Elimination Process will provide people on septic tanks here in Florida and the USA with a safe, sustainable and sanitary method for getting rid of their toilet waste and septic sludge that is polluting our land, lakes, springs, rivers and all other water sources.
    With this new SolarOrganite® Process, only sunlight is used to totally sterilized, pasteurized and dry the septic waste into a healthy and safe material that meets all US EPA 503 Requirements.
    This new patented processing has the capability of heating human septic waste to a high enough temperature using SolarOrganite® Process in an enclosed chamber to pasteurize and sterilize human waste and create a 99% totally dried end product. The device is a next-generation septic tank waste treatment process using only solar energy that can be used to disinfect septic liquid and solid waste while generating useful and environmentally safe end products.
    Sewage waste is either pumped or gravity feed into the SolarOrganite® processing chamber. Based on the amount of sewage waste, determine the size of the processing chamber needed.
    The heat energy generated by the sun with SolarOrganite® Chamber to pasteurization-sterilization chamber that can heat up the reaction chamber to over 70 degrees Celsius to treat the waste material, disinfect pathogens in both feces and urine, and produces a safe end product. The end product then meets all State and Federal Environmental Regulations. The fully dried, pasteurized-sterilized end product will be reduces by 99.9% and the small volume of dried material should be removed from the chamber every five to ten years.

  • P Burgess

    September 26, 2016 at 9:37 am

    Actually, nitrogen runoff from agriculture and green lawns is the monster cause of the problem.
    Until fertilizer is banned (which may be never), the problem will only get worse.
    Septic tanks are not the main problem, but get the headlines, which help take the heat off the real source of the pollution.

  • Tim Hackett

    September 28, 2016 at 10:28 am

    Maybe the State of Florida and Health Dept just needs to do there job and police the installed septic systems. If they were maintained probably a majority of the problem would go away. Just like immigration just apply the law, The majority of the systems in place are not even seachable on the sate web site. Go north of Orlando and deal with the Cattle Ranchers

Comments are closed.


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