How to help the Lake Okeechobee Restoration Initiative stop algae blooms

Treasure Coast nonprofits that research, protect, restore and advocate for clean water, especially the  Indian River Lagoon , need more than holiday cheer to continue their missions.

TCPalm's annual Giving Days fundraiser highlights how you can help these nonprofit organizations continue their important environmental work. Today, we feature the:

Lake Okeechobee Restoration Initiative

The Lake Okeechobee Restoration Initiative was founded in 2022 by Old Palm City resident and former Florida Tech natural science professor Joe Gilio, who specializes in oceanography, freshwater lakes and environmental sciences. 

He's researching a solution to Lake Okeechobee dumping massive amounts of suspended mud into the St. Lucie River, which have darkened it, smothered 50-year-old seagrasses, killed oyster bars and may have increased  Vibrio vulnificans  bacteria to dangerously high levels, which can kill older fishers with underlying medical conditions.

Gilio is using a nationwide, decades-long use of non-disease natural bacteria that eat the organic part of suspended mud, releasing the trapped phosphate that his special salt will trap into a safe solid back into the sediment. He hopes it will clarify the muddy water, reduce sediment mud thickness, reduce Vibrio levels and start the restoration process.

• Wish: An electro-chemical probe and sonde holder

• How it will help: The equipment measures water conditions such as suspended muds and other chemicals. Comparing results before and after treating water will indicate success, failure or necessary modifications.

• Cost: $6,000

• How to donate: Call Joe Gilio at 772-631-1157, email him at  jlgilio@lakeorestore.org , or mail him a check to P.O. Box 291, Palm City, FL 34991. Get more information at  lakeorestore.org .

GIVING DAYS: Read each Indian River Lagoon nonprofit's article

• Environmental Learning Center

• St. Lucie County Reef Builders

• Clean Water Coalition of Indian River County

• Ocean Research & Conservation Association (ORCA)

• Friends of the Everglades

• Environmental Studies Council

• Indian Riverkeeper

• Pelican Island Audubon Society

• Smithsonian Marine Ecosystems Exhibit at the St. Lucie County Aquarium

• Manatee Observation and Education Center

• River Kidz

• Florida Oceanographic Society

• Dolphin Ecology Project

• LORI

Cheryl Smith is TCPalm's environment editor. Contact her at cheryl.smith@tcpalm.com. Tim O'Hara  is TCPalm's environment reporter. Contact him at tim.ohara@tcpalm.com.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Giving Days How to help Lake Okeechobee Restoration Initiative LORI