CAPE CORAL, Fla. – Contractors started removing green algae mats in Cape Coral canals Tuesday, but work was temporarily slowed down when one of the crew’s boats flipped during the process. The weight of a load of algae caused the boat to flip, sending a crew member into the muck-filled canal. The man was uninjured and got out of the water safely. The boat was eventually removed from the water. The City of Cape Coral hired a contractor to perform mechanical removal of the green algae mats in the Rubican canal system. “We’ve never harvested this type of algae and we’ve never seen an outbreak of this in our canal system, so this is a first of its kind endeavor for the city,” said Cape Coral assistant public works director Mike Ilczyszyn. Even though the algae is natural and is not toxic, it can be tough to remove all of it. “We just want the residents to know that we are monitoring situation and it got it the point where we felt it was obnoxious and impacting the quality of life of our residents, so we reached out to vendors to find a solution so they can enjoy the quality of life they have in Cape Coral,” Ilczyszyn said. Ilczyszyn said the contractors will continue working to remove the algae in the canals over the next few days. This green algae feeds off of nutrients contained in fertilizer and other runoffs in our waterways. While the algae accumulations do not produce toxins, they can cause fish kills, because they can reduce the amount of oxygen available. Also, the decomposition of the green algae mats may produce hydrogen sulfide, a non-toxic chemical, which has a bad odor.