Melbourne Utilities has hired an outside lab to test water lines to assure its 170,000 water customers, including beachside cities, that water is still safe weeks after an early July blue-green algae bloom in Lake Washington.
Concerns over the blue-green algae necessitated a stepped-up water-treatment protocol. That treatment caused foul odors and discoloration, prompting a whole new round of complaints from ratepayers. The collecting of test samples was completed last week, with results expected in two to three weeks. The estimated cost for the testing is $10,660.
The sampling includes 129 regulatory monthly distribution samples and the system point of entry (POE) to the distribution system at the plant site from Lake Washington, the same sample locations utilized in-house during monthly compliance sampling, said Ralph Reigelsperger, Melbourne Public Works and Utilities director.
“This is the first time in the past 10 years since I have been here that we have used a firm to collect samples that we normally collect. This is also the first time in the past 10 years that there has been a report of blue-green algae on Lake Washington,’’ he said.
Melbourne supplies drinking water to its own city residents, plus Melbourne Beach, Indialantic, Indian Harbour Beach, Satellite Beach, Palm Shores, Melbourne Village and unincorporated Brevard County south of the Pineda Causeway, and also sells water to West Melbourne.
The testing will include flushing of all but a small fraction of the transmission lines in the system. According to the state Department of Environmental Protection, no blue-green algae has been detected in Lake Washington since the July bloom.
Melbourne Utilities received 72 such complaints about the water’s taste, color and odor in the period from July 8 to July 22. There have been 21 complaints since the packed July 30 informational meeting held in the Melbourne City Council chambers, officials said.
Melbourne Utilities will continue to receive FDEP’s weekly reports regarding algae on Lake Washington, will perform daily observations of the lake and will continue testing of the raw water line at its point of entry as necessary, Reigelsperger said.
Blue-green algae are not algae at all, but types of bacteria called cyanobacteria which create cyanotoxins. Biologists say warmer water temperatures and increasing phosphorus – perhaps partially caused by biosolids from South Florida now being spread along the St. Johns River – help to trigger more frequent and severe algae blooms in Florida lakes.
Local experts tapped for the state Blue-Green Algae Task Force included Dr. Valerie Paul, who since 2002 has served as director of the Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce. She has specialized in studying the ecology and chemistry of blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) blooms.
Also chosen was Dr. James Sullivan, executive director of Florida Atlantic University Harbor Branch. Considered an expert on marine ecosystem health, Sullivan earned his master’s and doctorate degrees in biological oceanography with specializations in phytoplankton physiology and ecology.