Discovery of toxin produced by algae prompts water advisory for West Palm, Palm Beach, South Palm

The discovery of a toxin produced by blue-green algae in its water supply has prompted West Palm Beach to issue an advisory that infants, young children and other vulnerable individuals in the city as well as the towns of Palm Beach and South Palm should not drink tap water. 

West Palm Beach will be distributing water to affected residents of West Palm, Palm Beach and South Palm today through Monday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Gaines Park, 1501 Australian Ave.

In a release issued late Friday night, the town of Palm Beach said cylindrospermopsin, a toxin produced by cyanobacteria (known as blue-green algae), was detected in the drinking water from West Palm Beach’s Water Treatment Plant on May 20.

Elevated levels of toxins also were detected in the raw water samples collected from the East Lobe of Clear Lake and the finished water at the treatment plant that supplies water to West Palm Beach, Palm Beach and South Palm Beach. 

Early this month, the city had shut down taps flowing into its main supply of drinking water after finding algae in canals coming from Lake Okeechobee.

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Boiling the water will not destroy the toxins and many increase toxin levels, the release said.  

Infants, children younger than 6, pregnant women and nursing mothers, people with pre-existing liver conditions, people receiving dialysis, the elderly and other sensitive populations should use other sources of water, the release said.

While everyone can use tap water for showering, bathing, washing hands, washing dishes, flushing toilets, cleaning and doing laundry, "infants and young children under the age of 6 should be supervised while bathing and during other tap water-related activities to prevent accidental ingestion of water," the release said.

Animals also are vulnerable so pet owners should avoid giving them tap water, and contact a vet if an animal shows signs of illness, the release said. 

The city is taking a number of actions to reduce cylindrospermopsin levels:  

• Activated its emergency wells to introduce groundwater into the surface water supply,

• Added powdered activated carbon into the treatment system at the water treatment plant,

• Increased free chlorine levels within the final stages of the treatment process, and

• Will initiate a switch to a stronger disinfectant on Saturday that is identified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to reduce levels of the toxin.

The city also is working with the Florida Department of Health and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection along with the City’s Emergency Operations Center to quickly reduce cylindrospermopsin levels in the tap water.

The cylindrospermopsin toxin is different than the microcystin that in recent years has been the more common form of toxin seen in the cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, in Lake Okeechobee.

Unlike microcystin, cylindrospermopsin is less likely to produce the tell-tale green scum on the surface of the water because the highest concentration of cells occurs below the water surface, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Poonam Kalkat, West Palm Beach’s director of public utilities, said there were no outward signs of the cylindrospermopsin toxin but that tests began seeing it in Clear Lake on May 3 at low levels. It had disappeared in subsequent tests, but showed up again in a May 17 sampling, which was returned May 20.

Samples were then taken every day with results reported to the Florida Department of Health and Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

“The EPA hasn’t set rules on this compound yet, although there are a couple of states that have and their standard is higher than what the EPA has recommended,” Kalkat said.

Kalkat said the EPA says levels higher than .7 parts per billion can be harmful to human health. When results came back higher than that, the state agencies began working on an advisory, which wasn’t finished until late Friday.

The advisory from the city came out about 10 p.m., followed by an 11 p.m. order issued by the DOH. Calls to the DOH and DEP were not immediately returned this morning.

“I just want people to know that this is an advisory for certain vulnerable populations and that we are working very hard to make sure it is taken care of quickly,” Kalkat said.

This is the first time the city has dealt with a cyanobacteria bloom in its water supply, which comes from the Grassy Waters Preserve into Clear Lake before reaching the water treatment plant.

West Palm Beach is one of the few cities that uses surface water for its water supply. It can become vulnerable to algae blooms when lake levels get low and the longer days of summer allow light to penetrate deeper into the water column.

The city was supplementing its supply to buoy Grassy Waters and Clear Lake with Lake Okeechobee water. In late April, the city shut down its feed from Lake Okeechobee after cyanobacteria was found in the canal bringing in lake water.

Kalkat said the cylindrospermopsin grew in Clear Lake likely because of the low water level and sunshine that has seen little break with the delayed rainy season.

“It seems to be the algal blooms have gone up in recent years and that may have something to do with hotter summers,” Kalkat said.

This year, the blue-green algae bloom on Lake Okeechobee began about a month earlier than what is normal.

With the lake drying to below 13 feet above sea level, no discharges have been made to the St. Lucie Estuary, which can suffer harmful algae blooms when seeded with lake water. Lake Okeechobee water going to the Caloosahatchee Estuary was reduced Friday by the Army Corps of Engineers. The Caloosahatchee needs some freshwater during the dry season, but it too can suffer cyanobacteria blooms.

The city of West Palm Beach is now drawing on its eastern and western well fields to fill Clear Lake. It had asked to begin using its eastern well fields earlier but its water-use permit from the South Florida Water Management District would only allow it once Clear Lake got below a certain level, Kalkat said.

“We did ask the district to allow us to start using the eastern well field earlier and if we could have gotten that water in earlier, that might have helped,” Kalkat said. “We started yesterday (Friday) with the western well field to bring more groundwater in.”

For more information, call the city’s hotline at 561-822-2222 (TTY 800-955-8771).

Kmiller@pbpost.com

@Kmillerweat