Summer Forecast for Lake Erie: Another Big Algae Outbreak

Summer Forecast for Lake Erie: Another Big Algae Outbreak

Today you will be reading about an Algae Outbreak in Lake Erie. After the reading you will answer short response comprehension questions.

Algae Outbreak

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) Researches predicted Thursday that Lake Erie will see one of the most severe, toxic algae outbreaks this summer. This comes a year after toxins polluted the drinking water for 400,000 people in northwestern Ohio and southeastern Michigan. Scientists who issued their forecast for the lake think this years algae bloom could be the second largest. The largest was in 2011. The algae stretched more than 100 miles from Toledo to Cleveland.

Algae Bloom

Heavy rains across northern Ohio over the past month have washed huge amounts of algae-feeding phosphorus into the lake.The prediction for an algae bloom bigger than a year ago doesn't necessarily mean there will be more drinking-water trouble. This is because wind and water temperatures play a role, too. "While we are forecasting a severe bloom, much of the lake will be fine most of the time," said Richard Stumpf. Mr. Stumpf is of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Toxins in the Water

Algae blooms are linked to phosphorus from farm fertilizers, livestock manure, and sewage treatment plants. The blooms have taken hold in the western third of the lake over the last decade. They colored some of its waters a shade of green that looks like pea soup.Toxins in the lake infected the water supply in Toledo and in a neighboring township the past two summers. Toledos drinking water was off limits for just over two days last August.The algae blooms typically peak from the middle of August through the end of September. They have also been blamed for contributing to oxygen-deprived dead zones where fish cant survive.

Algae Causes Concern

What happens this year when the large blooms develop will depend a great deal on wind patterns and temperatures. The cooler the better for slowing down the algae. In past summers, strong winds have pushed the blooms up against the Ohio shoreline. At other times, it has sent the algae toward the middle of the lake. A year ago, the wind shoved the algae over the intake pipes where Toledo draws its water.Theres no way now to know where it will be concentrated," Stumpf said.

Controlling Phosphorus Flow

Ohio, Michigan, and the Canadian province of Ontario agreed in June to drastically reduce the amount of phosphorus flowing into western Lake Erie within the next 10 years. Some changes limiting when farmers can spread fertilizer and manure on fields already have been made. However, it will take at least a few years to see improvements.Only a significant reduction in phosphorus will solve the problem, said Don Scavia. Mr. Scavia is an aquatic ecologist for the University of Michigan. "We cannot continue to cross our fingers and hope that seasonal changes in weather will keep us safe," he said.

Maumee River

About half the phosphorus in the lake comes down the Maumee River. The river drains 3 million acres of farmland before flowing through Toledo and into the lake. So far this year, about 2.5 million pounds of phosphorus have washed down the river. “This is the highest since 2011, said Laura Johnson, a research scientist at the National Center for Water Quality Research at Heidelberg University. Nearly half of this years total in June came after storms dumped 8 inches of rain across northwestern Ohio and parts of Indiana that also drain into the lake.

Monitoring the Situation

Researchers who have been out on the lake already have seen the toxic algae in the water. This is a little earlier than usual, according to Tom Bridgeman of the University of Toledos Lake Erie Center. But the toxins have not been detected in the water Toledo uses, city officials said this week.  

Open Ended

What environmental conditions could impact the growth of algae in Lake Erie?

Open Ended

What human-made factors influence the growth of the algae?

Open Ended

Why is this information important for people who depend on Lake Erie for drinking water?

Open Ended

How does this information relate to what you have started learning in class this week?