Harmful Algae Blooms: No Blooms today, 8 Blooms reported last week (9/17, 9/18)

Average Secchi Disk Water Clarity: 4.56 meters

Average Surface Water Temperature: 71.2 F

Lake Level: 687.84 feet above sea level (desired level 688.10) Main gates have been closed all summer and feeder canal is at minimum required flow.

We are in the 9th week of the shoreline HABs monitoring program, and we thank all our HABs and secchi disk volunteers for their persistence in reporting! Although fall is in the air, we are encouraging volunteers to continue submitting reports if they are able, picking days that look favorable for blooms (calm, sunny weather).

We have had a comparatively light number of reported bloo23ms so far this season, though we did document a fairly widespread bloom event on Saturday, September 17th in the northern half of the lake, with seven blooms reported by trained volunteers. Blooms areas were showing signs of surface streaking. See image below from the yacht club on 9/17.

We had one additional report on Sunday, September 18th, but have had no reported blooms since that date.

There are still a few more weeks left in the shoreline monitoring program and there will continue to be trained eyes on the lake well into the fall between paid watershed staff and volunteers. If you remember, in 2021 we had blooms late into October, so while things have been relatively quiet this year, there is still potential for bloom events later in the season.

As always, please continue to use your visual indicators when recreating in the lake – conditions may change daily, if not hourly, so look for signs of surface streaking of algae, surface scums, or green/discolored water. These areas should be avoided.

If you’re at the Naples Grape Fest this weekend, stop on by the CLWA booth over by the Memorial Town Hall to chat about all things lake-related! You can also pick up a copy of our new Lake Friendly Living Guide, grab some cool CLWA gear (including our new long sleeved tees and beanies) or buy a raffle ticket to win a beautiful hand-painted rain barrel from local artist Noreen Salerno. Hope to see you there!