Got muck? Florida residents can report algae blooms with new hotline.
After declaring a state of emergency this week, Florida officials have turned to citizens to help control the outbreak.
Water full of algae laps along the Sewell's Point shore on the St. Lucie River under an Ocean Boulevard bridge, Monday, June 27, 2016. The Martin County Commission decided at an emergency meeting Tuesday to ask state and federal authorities to declare a disaster where blue-green algae has closed beaches. County officials on Florida's Atlantic coast want the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to close the locks between Lake Okeechobee and the St. Lucie River.
Richard Graulich/The Palm Beach Post via AP
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The state has launched a hotline to help residents give updates on the massive algae bloom fouling some of Florida's southern rivers and beaches.
Residents can call a toll-free at 1-855-305-3903 or report information online at www.reportalgalbloom.com. The smelly muck comes just in time for the holiday weekend.
U.S. Senators Marco Rubio and Bill Nelson have asked the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to stop the flow of water between the river and Lake Okeechobee. Residents and business owners blame the algae on pollutants streaming from the lake.
The Army Corps started reducing the flow Friday, targeting the Caloosahatchee Estuary and the St. Lucie Estuary.
Gov. Rick Scott declared a state of emergency over the smelly muck, and politicians and residents are blaming the federal government.
Scott says state officials will to conduct routine sampling.