Algal bloom toxins found in Sandusky Bay water

SANDUSKY — Significant toxins are being produced by the ongoing algal bloom in Sandusky Bay, said northern Ohio's top expert on the bay's algal blooms. Water samples have been taken in various locations in the bay since early June and tested for the toxins produced by cyanobacteria. A few of the test results so far are above the EPA's drinking water advisory or the EPA's recreational contact advisory, said emeritus biology professor George Bullerjahn of Bowling Green State University, who has been studying algal blooms in Sandusky Bay for years. He said the testing will continue. The toxins in the bay do not threaten the city's water supply, said Aaron Klein, director of public works for the City of Sandusky. "Our intake for the water plant is beyond the Chaussee so it doesn't draw from the bay. Hence, the blooms in the bay are not affecting our treatment processes at all," Klein wrote in an email to the Register. Precautions were taken to make sure the toxins would not affect competitors in last Sunday's Ironman competition, said John Orzech, Sandusky's city manager. "The Ironman event tests daily with the Erie County Health Department leading up to the event, specifically the swim course from the Jackson Street Pier, to the channel and to the Paper District Marina," Orzech said. "Ironman was advised of the BGSU information but tested specifically along our course with the health department." He continued: "All safety measures are in place to make sure there are no water-related health risks to the swimmers and an alternative course and changes to the event are always in place for the triathlon each year." Bullerjahn had previously announced that the current algal bloom in Sandusky Bay was the first big bloom in the bay since 2019. But the cause of the blooms in the bay has changed since 2019, he explained. The new bloom is caused by Microcystis, the cyanobacteria which causes the main harmful algal bloom in the western basin of Lake Erie, and Aphanizomenon. The bloom in the bay used to be caused by Planktothrix, he said. Meanwhile, the main harmful algal bloom in Lake Erie has continued to develop on the western end of the lake, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in an email bulletin the federal agency issued on Monday. Satellite photographs show signs of the bloom in Maumee Bay, the agency said.