On June 30, Governor Rick Scott declared a state of emergency regarding the polluted water around Florida's Atlantic coast. The water is being polluted by a toxic blue-green algae that have been described by locals, in the areas affected, as smelling like cow manure and sewage while having the consistency of guacamole.

While there are many moving parts and hidden agendas from government and big businesses in this cause and effect story, the most apparent cause for this algae bloom can be traced back to the U.S Army Corps of Engineers pumping water from polluted Lake Okeechobee into the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie Rivers. Water is being redirected into these water ways because the lake's dike is both aging and earthen and, when holding too much water, threatens to flood communities surround it. For those who do not know a dike is,"...a long narrow hole that is dug in the ground to carry water : a ditch or trench bank or mound of earth that is built to control water and especially to protect an area from flooding."

While algae is a natural resident of most bodies of water, the high temperatures and increased rainfall have helped to spur the intense algae blooms in addition to the mixing of fresh with salt water. As fresh water is known to contain large amounts of nitrogen and phosphorous, it becomes the ideal nutrients for algae which in turns causes a great deal of their growth.

Such intense blooms may also be explained by the 10 billion gallons of water that were pumped from the south into Lake Okeechobee back in late January. As it has already been stated, the lake cannot afford to hold high levels of water due to its faulty structure, so water routinely is redirected out of it. To put things in perspective, 10 billion gallons of water would fill 15,000 Olympic swimming pools.

Although information on the reason why the fresh water is so polluted is hard to find, sources have claimed that the high levels of nitrogen and phosphorus in Okeechobee's polluted water is largely caused by run off from big sugar companies, sugarcane fields.

The cause of the water's pollution may be disputable, but the impact that this algae will and is having on wildlife and local business is indisputably negative. As, "the blue-green algae blocks oxygen from entering the water and also excretes toxins" beaches and business along the coast have been forced to closed, causing communities that rely on tourism to take a big hit financially. Additionally, the lack of oxygen in the water ways are predicted to cause the demise of many fish, manatees, and other wildlife in the water. This issue is not only environmental but political and social. It should be examined thoroughly from all sides in order for a proper solution to be put into action.