DEP Awards $10 Million for Innovative Technologies to Combat Harmful Algal Blooms

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Today, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) awarded $10 million in grants for 15 projects focused on mitigating the effects of harmful algal blooms, including blue-green algae. These projects will deploy and evaluate cutting-edge technologies to prevent bloom occurrences and implement treatment strategies to minimize environmental and economic impacts. 

“With this investment, we are enhancing our ability to take proactive steps to prevent harmful algal blooms and, if they were to occur, to respond to blooms more effectively than ever before, protecting both our natural resources and local communities,” said DEP Secretary Alexis A. Lambert. 

“Through our comprehensive regulatory and restoration efforts, we remain committed to reducing nutrient loading in our waterbodies and minimizing the frequency and severity of harmful algal blooms,” said Florida Chief Science Officer Dr. Mark Rains. “While progress continues, occasional blooms will still occur. The innovative technologies developed through this program are equipping responders with critical tools to mitigate their impacts more effectively.” 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers begins NEPA process for Anclote River Channel in Pasco County, Florida

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (June 9, 2025) – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District is beginning preparation of a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) document to address a channel realignment, configuration, maintenance and material placement for the Anclote River Channel in Pasco County, Florida. The non-Federal sponsor for the proposed project is the City of Tarpon Springs. Jacksonville District is currently gathering information to define issues and concerns that will be addressed in an analysis to be prepared in compliance with NEPA.

The Anclote River is located on the West Coast of Florida and borders both Pasco and Pinellas Counties, approximately 20 miles north of Tampa. The Federal channel is 9.1 miles, and the entrance channel begins in Tarpon Springs and runs through the Gulf of America. The purpose of the Anclote River, Florida project is to maintain a safe and efficient vessel navigation through the channel. Anclote Key has experienced intense sediment accumulation, known as shoaling, to the point of expansion into the channel, hindering safe and efficient vessel navigation. The NEPA document will evaluate continued maintenance dredging of the Federal project as well as potential new placement sites. Resources and other important features within the project area include recreation, commercial and recreational fisheries, fish and wildlife resources, essential fish habitat, threatened and endangered species, and seagrasses.

USACE Jacksonville District welcomes your views, comments and information about environmental, and cultural resources, study objectives and important features within the described project area. Questions, requests for additional information, or comments should be submitted to the USACE Jacksonville District Environmental Branch, Coastal Section via email to Rachel.s.case@usace.army.mil by July 9, 2025.

UF water researchers develop prediction system for harmful algae

The slimy algae topping Florida’s waterways are more than just unsightly. They are often toxic to humans, animals and the environment.

To mitigate those risks, University of Florida researchers are collaborating with North Carolina State University and University of South Florida scientists on a next-day prediction model to warn and inform water managers about harmful algal blooms.

The research is funded by two U.S. Army Corps of Engineers grants for two phases, totaling $4.4 million. The project is led by David Kaplan, Ph.D., a professor with the Engineering School of Sustainable Infrastructure and Environment in the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering and director of the Howard T. Odum Center for Wetlands, and Mauricio Arias, Ph.D., an associate professor at USF.

In a paper published recently in the Journal of Environmental Management, Kaplan, UF assistant professor Elise Morrison, Ph.D., and NCSU’s Maria Menchu Maldonado, Ph.D., chronicled their work with harmful algal blooms in the Caloosahatchee River and Estuary, the environmentally sensitive link between Lake Okeechobee and Florida’s southwestern coast. Maldonado performed the work under the guidance of NCSU collaborator Natalie Nelson.