Algal blooms in fresh-water lakes like Lake Erie happen every year, but they have grown larger over the years due to increased phosphorus run-off from farms into the lake. Credit: Dispatch file photo/Dispatch via TNS
Manure storage, water treatment waste and preventing nutrient runoff are some of the problems researchers worked to solve this past year as part of the Harmful Algal Bloom Research Initiative.
Researchers released their annual report Sept. 13 detailing their findings and the potential solutions for Ohio communities. The research initiative includes four main areas of focus: tracking algal blooms from the source, producing safe drinking water, protecting public health and engaging residents, farmers and politicians in the area, according to the report.
“This research is important for two reasons: number one, because there is a health risk and a responsibility to maintain a healthy ecosystem; number two, this research is important because it’s really providing actionable information to help people change their behavior,” Christopher Winslow, director of the Ohio Sea Grant College Program, said.
Algal blooms in freshwater lakes like Lake Erie happen every year, but they have become more frequent over the years due to increased phosphorus runoff from farms into the lake. The algae, which produce the harmful toxin microcystin, feed on phosphorus and thrive in high temperatures, both of which are worsening due to climate change, Winslow said.
“Models show that we’re going to see elevated temperatures in this region, but we’re also going to see more severe and heavy storms in the fall and in the spring,” Winslow said. “Unfortunately, nutrients that come in during the springtime will drive a bloom that starts growing at the end of spring and in the summer.”
One study found that 98 percent of farmland in the Maumee watershed area near Toledo, Ohio, had a very low risk of nutrient runoff, and the researchers identified the remaining two percent of farmland, allowing the land to be easily targeted for nutrient runoff management and ultimately helping to track where algal blooms might originate.
The initiative was created in 2015 following the 2014 Toledo Water Crisis, when roughly half a million people in the Toledo area were warned not to drink or cook with their tap water because of toxins produced by a harmful algal bloom in Lake Erie, directly over Toledo’s water intake pipe.
The initiative is funded by the Ohio Department of Higher Education with matching contributions from participating universities which include the University of Cincinnati, the University of Akron and Bowling Green State University, among others. It is managed by Ohio State through the Ohio Sea Grant College Program and the University of Toledo.
Other studies involve researching how residual material leftover after water treatment could allow toxins to bleed into produce and studying the effects of algal toxins on patients with liver conditions.
In the most recent budget bill, funding for the initiative was increased by $1 million, Randy Gardner, chancellor of the Ohio Department of Higher Education, said in an email.
Winslow cited a study conducted through the initiative that determined which storage methods were best for reducing phosphorus content in manure, a finding the researchers shared with Ohioans in the Ohio Country Journal.
