Dealing with another significant algal bloom

At Thursday's seventh annual Harmful Algal Bloom Forecast announcement at Ohio State University's Stone Laboratory, NOAA and Heidelberg University researchers concurred with what boaters have already been observing this summer — there is an algal bloom underway.Much of the open water of the lake has a mix of beneficial algal species present that provide food for small fish, but an earlier than usual Microcystis bloom covers a small area of Maumee Bay; the Sandusky Bay is once again loaded with Planktothrix and a third area of scum exists off of Cleveland.When Lake Erie was declared dead in the 1970s, scientists calculated that the lake could recover if the amount of total phosphorus in the lake was reduced to 11,000 metric tons.At the time, annual levels ranged from 12,000-to-23,000 metric tons and caused massive amounts of the filamentous green algae called Cladophora to attach to the shoreline; wide-spread, dense blue-green (Cyanobacteria) algal bloom scums; and an expansion of the dead zone, a nick-name for low dissolved oxygen levels (Hypoxia).A lot of money was invested in sewage treatment plants; no-till farming was widely adopted to prevent soil erosion that carried phosphorus attached to the clay particles — and eventually Proctor and Gamble agreed to eliminate phosphates from their many soap products.While Total Phosphorus levels have remained stable, more of it is now in the form of Dissolved Reactive Phosphorus, a.k.a. Total Bioavailable Phosphorus (TBP), which is used by plants for growth.The targeted goal to prevent significant algal blooms is for the spring loading of TBP to remain below 186 metric tons in the Maumee River. Currently, sampling efforts by Heidelberg University's National Center for Water Quality Research have measured over 300 metric tons in the river at Waterville, with the expectation that it will increase to approximately 343 by July 31.A recent report led by retired Ohio Sea Grant Director Jeff Reutter concluded that nearly 88 percent of non-point phosphorus loading comes from agricultural sources. It is clear that Ohio's largest industry has a long way to go to slow the eutrophication (aging) of the lake.Voluntary controls and mandatory nutrient training and management have not yet prevented algal blooms from forming. It is possible that these efforts kept the problem from getting worse, but the research has not been in place long enough to be able to be evaluated.Nonetheless, Governor John Kasich issued an executive order on Wednesday that directed state agencies to initiate additional action to target some upper Maumee River watersheds as distressed. This order will require farmers to follow approved nutrient management practices until the watershed is considered recovered and the distressed designation removed.Farm organizations are criticizing the move as premature, but the results of ongoing edge of field experiments can still be evaluated. It is likely that some of the recommendations offered at the end of the trials will suggest that farms implement stricter nutrient guidelines such as those that the Governor ordered anyway.With respect to the 2018 Harmful Algal Bloom prediction, this year is expected to reach 6.0 on the 1-to-10 scale introduced by the researchers in 2014. Any score over 4.0 is considered to be significant.Last year, they predicted a 7.0 and it turned out that because of a long, calm, warm fall the value rose to 8.0, still below the 10.5 seen in 2015 and the 10.0 seen in 2011.Fishermen should note that there have not been any ill-effects seen to local fish health, but some anglers have noticed a higher tolerance by walleyes than perch for the thick algal blooms.Perhaps the walleyes use the shading from the algal scum to target bait fish picking at edible algal species mixed in with the toxic algae.As for boaters, going through an algal bloom creates noticeable drag on the vessel, decreasing fuel efficiency and staining some hulls not protected with an antifouling coating.Since the algal blooms do not cover the entire lake at once, boaters, fishermen and swimmers who wish to avoid them should simply make a habit of checking Ohio' Beachguard site, much as one would check a weather forecast to see which portion of the lake is currently affected: publicapps.odh.ohio.gov/beachguardpublic/.The Governor also signed the Clean Lake 2020 Bill introduced by local Representative Steve Arndt and Senator Randy Gardner that will fund further Ohio water quality improvements. A total of $2.65 million will go to Stone Lab to add water quality testing lab space and monitoring equipment.