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Wellington company part of competition to prevent algae blooms

Posted at 4:44 PM, Jun 05, 2018
and last updated 2018-06-06 04:26:29-04

As fears of another algae crisis grow on the Treasure Coast, efforts are ramping up to prevent blooms not just here in Florida, but around the globe.

RELATED: Discharges begin on Lake Okeechobee| Algae spotted on the lake

Koos Baas is with Green Water Solution in Wellington.

His company is a finalist for a $10 million prize in the Everglades Foundation George Barley Water Competition.

It's an effort to find solutions for phosphorous-polluted bodies of water around the globe including Lake Okeechobee.

Baas says his device would be able to extract phosphorous from the water.

"You can do that with this technology," said Baas. You can take phosphorous out of the water and avoid algae blooms to happen."

Mark Perry with Florida's Oceanographic Society approves.

"Noble effort. Got to stop the sources of it," said Perry.

Baas says it's all about raising awareness, not so much the prize.

"At the end of the day, it's a worldwide problem and it needs to be  solved and I'm very happy that we can contribute to finding a solution."