CAPE CORAL, Fla. — The Cape Coral City Council is planning for next summer by voting to put in so-called "bubble curtains" to keep the algae at bay.
“It’s smelly. It seems to collect like it growing. It is pretty unpleasant," Kevin Shelton, a resident on the canal.
Folks that live along canals in Cape Coral remember that blue-green algae over the summer. Now, the city is implementing a new strategy: bubble curtains. They circulate the water — that's the bubble part — in a way that discourages the growth of the blue-green algae.
“It is a solution if blue-green algae are on their way into a canal system," Barry Rosen, professor at the FGCU Department of Ecology & Environmental Studies.
The curtain part creates a barrier between healthy water and algae drifting toward it.
“It is a curtain wall and it will. Slow down or even prevent those blue-green algae from moving into that canal," Rosen said.
Residents along the Mandolin Canal, where one of the bubble curtains was installed as a test in the summer, said it helped last year.
"I think they pretty well. It kept new things from floating in the canal," Shelton said.
This prevention tool was discussed in Wednesday's Cape Coral City Council meeting. The city council decided to approve a resolution to contract LPS Ultitilies INc. to help with the Canal Management Dredging FY 21-22 project. Shelton said he fully supports adding more bubble curtains to help mitigate blue-green algae — before the warmer water of late spring and summer bring the blooms.
“The key is to get them out early," Shelton said.
