The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicts the Gulf of Mexico’s annual summer dead zone – a low-oxygen area which can cause mass death of marine life – will grow over 40% this year compared to last summer, approaching the size of Massachusetts. The effects of this year’s dead zone on the local […]
The results of an experiment spanning nearly a half-century at the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD; Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada) claim that if water stewards want to stem the growth of harmful algal blooms, they should focus on phosphorus rather than nitrogen. The discovery, made by the same research organization credited with identifying phosphorus as […]
In Chesapeake Bay this year, the amount of algae that will decay will render a stretch of water approximately equal to the volume of 2.3 million Olympic-sized swimming pools unable to support life. According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and local partners in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, […]
A new scientific report released by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found that 46% of the nation’s river and stream miles suffer from phosphorus and nitrogen pollution. This situation creates a poor habitat environment that is not conducive for supporting healthy populations of aquatic life. These conditions are caused largely by excess fertilizers, wastewater, […]
The U.S. and Canadian governments have adopted targets to reduce phosphorus entering areas of Lake Erie by 40% in an effort to improve water quality and minimize risks to public health. The reductions seek to decrease the amount of low oxygen “dead zones” in the central basin of Lake Erie, encourage algae growth at a […]
On April 2, Ohio Gov. John Kasich signed into law legislation aimed at reducing nutrient runoff and thereby decreasing algal and cyanobacteria blooms in Lake Erie. The new law prohibits farmers from spreading manure when fields are frozen or saturated or when forecasts call for rain. The manure-spreading ban applies to weather forecasts of at […]
Researchers at the University of Georgia are developing a neighborhood watch system for Georgia waters called CyanoTRACKER. The early warning system will use social media platforms and cloud computing to crowdsource instances where further monitoring of algae conditions may be necessary. The project will use Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to help identify localized blooms at […]
On Sept. 24, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a new Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) Action Plan outlining steps that federal agencies will take during the next five years to achieve four main goals: Cleaning up Great Lakes Areas of Concern; Preventing and controlling invasive species; Reducing nutrient runoff that contributes to harmful […]
On Sept. 3, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) will provide almost $12 million to federal and state agencies to target harmful algal blooms (HABs) in western Lake Erie. The funding builds upon the GLRI’s ongoing efforts to reduce algal blooms and will be made available to Ohio, […]
Great Lakes water quality issues received national media attention in early August as Toledo, Ohio issued warnings to nearly half a million people not to use drinking water for cooking, bathing, or consuming due to cyanobacteria toxins known as microcystins. The toxins had reached levels of about 1.0 part per billion, the World Health Organization’s […]
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