WEBVTT 00:05.605 --> 00:09.809 align:left position:37.5%,start line:89% size:52.5% July 2016. 00:09.909 --> 00:15.849 align:left position:12.5%,start line:89% size:77.5% Above average rainfall in South Florida causes dangerously high water levels in south-central 00:15.949 --> 00:19.652 align:left position:17.5%,start line:89% size:72.5% Florida s Lake Okeechobee. 00:19.753 --> 00:25.191 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% Flood control managers, fearing a breach in the dike surrounding the lake, release billions 00:25.291 --> 00:31.898 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% of gallons of water through canals, rivers and streams into the Gulf of Mexico and the 00:31.998 --> 00:36.236 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% Atlantic Ocean. 00:36.336 --> 00:42.142 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% The discharge to Florida s Atlantic coast surged down the C-44 canal that flows into 00:42.242 --> 00:47.580 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% the St. Lucie River and Estuary and into the lower Indian River Lagoon. 00:47.680 --> 00:55.688 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% It formed a toxic blue-green algae mat, as much as six inches thick, that shut down marinas 00:55.789 --> 01:03.630 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% and polluted near shore waters as it flowed out the St. Lucie inlet and into the ocean. 01:03.730 --> 01:09.836 align:left position:72.5%,start line:83% size:17.5% Airborne toxins from the algae bloom sickened people and contaminated one of the most biologically 01:09.936 --> 01:13.640 align:left position:85%,start line:89% size:5% diverse estuaries in North America. 01:13.740 --> 01:20.480 align:left position:67.5%,start line:83% size:22.5% We all suffered from the headaches, the hoarseness of your throat and the smell that you couldn t 01:20.580 --> 01:23.249 align:left position:80%,start line:89% size:10% get rid of once you went home at night. 01:23.349 --> 01:25.752 align:left position:80%,start line:83% size:10% It was horrible and we don t want to do it again. 01:25.852 --> 01:30.056 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% I had very little business coming through the door, the phone stopped ringing. 01:30.156 --> 01:32.358 align:left position:15%,start line:89% size:75% Nobody s using their boats. 01:32.459 --> 01:35.328 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% The water s just that nasty, nobody wants to go out on it. 01:35.428 --> 01:41.000 align:left position:80%,start line:83% size:10% This has been making national news, it s going to have a devastating long term impact 01:41.101 --> 01:43.136 align:left position:85%,start line:89% size:5% just from an economical standpoint. 01:43.236 --> 01:50.477 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% My hope is that they can figure out a way to stop the discharges to protect our estuaries 01:50.577 --> 01:53.379 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% which we are slowly killing off. 01:53.480 --> 01:59.652 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% Florida s coastal communities have struggled for decades with harmful algal blooms caused 01:59.752 --> 02:03.590 align:left position:75%,start line:83% size:15% by seasonal freshwater discharges from Lake Okeechobee. 02:03.690 --> 02:09.629 align:left position:80%,start line:83% size:10% We ve got to do something about this and hold the politicians responsible. 02:09.729 --> 02:13.566 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% This is where the greatest damage is being done to the ocean as a whole. 02:13.666 --> 02:19.873 align:left position:80%,start line:83% size:10% It s where humans and the ocean meet and interact and it s the lifeblood of so much 02:19.973 --> 02:21.841 align:left position:32.5%,start line:89% size:57.5% of the ocean. 02:21.941 --> 02:28.815 align:left position:72.5%,start line:83% size:17.5% In South Florida, algal blooms are a long-term problem with complex sources and solutions. 02:28.915 --> 02:34.721 align:left position:72.5%,start line:83% size:17.5% Now, scientists, engineers and water managers are pursuing restoration and rehabilitation 02:34.821 --> 02:38.821 align:left position:77.5%,start line:83% size:12.5% strategies in response to one of America s complicated marine challenges.