WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Residents who live along the Lake Worth Lagoon have spotted blue-green algae in the water over the past few days.
Dottie Carson found it covering the canal behind her Lake Worth house on Thursday.
"What has happened up north is now in Lake Worth and it's frightened me," she said.
Scientists with the Department of Environmental Protection took water samples this week to find out if the blue-green algae is toxic. If so, the health department would be notified to take the appropriate precautions.
"It's a disaster that we have no control over," Dottie said.
Bernadette Noel spotted the algae this week while walking her dog along Summa Beach.
The green sludge could be seen lining the intracoastal waterway.
"It was like lava, green in a way. The sand is white, but it made the sand green," Bernadatte said.
According to officials with South Florida Water Management, the water was being released from the canal due to recent rains.
Officials with SFWMD say blooms like the one seen in the lagoon happen every year due to excess nutrients in the water and hot temperatures.
Robert Robbins, director of the county's environmental resources division, says it's not clear yet how harmful this bloom may be.
Robert says the lagoon has had poor water quality for years due to freshwater releases.
The algae can be detrimental to marine life if it sticks around long enough.
"It reduces the amount of sunlight that can reach the bottom of a lagoon and seagrasses die off and seagrass is a primary food source in the lagoon," Robert said.
Once the algae dies, Robert said it could cause a fish kill, although he doesn't expect a large one to happen.
He said it's necessary to find other places to store the water, rather than sending into local waterways.
"The more that that stormwater runoff can be stored, treated and sent to beneficial areas like Everglades Restoration--that's the effort that can help," he said.