News items from Eutrophication News

A record-setting dead zone is predicted to occur in the Gulf of Mexico and expected to kill bottom-dwelling fish and other marine life over a significant portion of the seafloor this summer following the rise in nutrient runoff from the Mississippi floods, according to marine scientists supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association.

Pollution and global warming are pushing the world's oceans to the brink of a mass extinction of marine life unseen for tens of millions of years, a consortium of scientists warned Monday.

CANADA - The Peterborough County-City Health Unit states that testing has confirmed that blue-green algae is in the "back channel" area of Pigeon Lake. Residents in the affected area are being reminded to avoid using water from the lake

BATANGAS CITY—Days after authorities declared that fish from the Taal Lake were safe to eat following a massive fishkill that spawned an industry nightmare, hundreds of “bangus” (milkfish) were again seen floating in at least three lakeside villages on Monday, police said.

BUCKEYE LAKE -- Advisories warning of algal blooms were issued Friday for all three Buckeye Lake beaches, expanding the previous advisory only at Brooks Beach.

Harmful algal blooms capable of producing toxins have been spotted at Crystal, Fairfield and Brooks beaches, prompting the new warnings at the beaches in Licking and Fairfield counties.

Oregon's environmental regulators on Thursday approved new health-based water quality standards, touted as the toughest in the nation, for curtailing toxic pollutants in rivers and streams.

The increase in the jellyfish population has been attributed to factors including climate change, over-fishing and the runoff of agricultural fertilisers. The rise in sea temperature and the elimination of predators such as sharks and tuna has made conditions ideal, and "blooms" – when populations explode in great swarms, sparking regular panics on beaches around the world– are being reported in ever-increasing size and frequency.

The millions of gallons of water gushing into Tampa Bay from the abandoned Piney Point phosphate plant contains high levels of a pollutant called cadmium, as well as enough nitrogen and phosphorus to potentially cause a harmful algae bloom and a fish kill, state Department of Environmental Protection officials announced Wednesday.

MANATEE COUNTY - The water gushing from a former phosphate plant into the Gulf of Mexico in North Manatee County contains high levels of two toxic metals and nutrients that could harm a precious Southwest Florida fishery.

MANATEE COUNTY - The water gushing from a former phosphate plant into the Gulf of Mexico in North Manatee County contains high levels of two toxic metals and nutrients that could harm a precious Southwest Florida fishery.

Toxic algal blooms are turning the Caloosahatchee into a smelly green mess east of the Franklin Lock. West of the lock, the river is streaked by a brown dinoflagellate bloom. The Olga Water Treatment Plant (east of Franklin Lock) was shut down on May 5 because of algae and high salinities.

MANILA, Philippines - There is nothing “natural” in the fishkill that started in areas encircling the Taal Lake, an expert from the University of the Philippines (UP) said.

ATLANTA, GA. Trivia question: What President signed into law the Clean Water Act Amendments to cover stormwater issues? If you guessed President Ronald Reagan, you were right.

According to the EPA, communities along the Great Bay are prime contributors to nitrogen pollution, which in turn is effectively killing the bay. The problem, however, as Rochester and other communities see it, is that their treatment facilities are only part of the problem.

Delmas, South Africa: A NEW wastewater treatment plant at Delmas, in Mpumalanga, is to be commissioned by the end of this month, municipal spokesman Ronald du Toit says.

SPRINGDALE, Ark. -- From far away Lake Elmdale looks like it always does, but close up, large mounds of algae have clearly taken over.

Bangalore, INDIA: Soaps and detergents are turning out to be the new killers of lakes, according to researchers from Bangalore University. Shocked by the revelations, experts have suggested that the government ban the use of phosphate in detergents and soaps, and instead switch to synthetic chemical, Zeolite.

Collier County water quality monitors are reporting various species of dead fish and discolored water in at least two Marco Island canals. Monitors are blaming low oxygen levels in the canals because of a bloom of non-toxic algae detected in water quality samples.

BEIJING, June 3 (Xinhua) -- China's overall environmental situation is still grave while its seven major rivers and coastal seawaters are slightly polluted, according to an annual report on the country's environmental conditions in 2010 released Friday.

The Tampa City Council is on a fast track to pass an ordinance banning the use or sale of certain fertilizers during the summer rainy season. The law is intended to protect the Hillsborough River and Tampa Bay from nitrogen and phosphorus pollution. Local residents and activists showed up in numbers to today's City Council meeting to support the proposed ordinance.