Eutrophication News

Toxic algae is sucking the oxygen out of Lake Erie. The lake is currently undergoing one of the worst algae blooms in decades, turning the water a scummy bright green. According to NASA, blooms like this did occur in the 1950's and 60's, but now phosphorus from farms, sewage, and industry have fertilized the waters.

CALIFORNIA - A water sample taken by Heal the Bay scientists off the Santa Monica Pier this week confirmed what Malibu’s more avid beachgoers may already know: Local beaches are experiencing a red tide.

MORETON Bay could face major toxic algae blooms this summer courtesy of a nutrient and chemical dump from the January floods. Parts of the bay also will change to a muddy bottom with dirty water because of farm topsoil being washed downstream.

The federal-state Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force today released a wide-ranging list of strategies for repairing damage done to Gulf of Mexico ecosystems by the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill and by other long-term threats.

U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD), Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Water and Wildlife, convened a hearing to discuss the causes and impacts of nutrient pollution in the United States and various approaches toward mitigating its effects.

TEXAS - A Baylor study has shown that drought conditions worsen the toxicity of chemicals in streams and could prove harmful to aquatic life. “Texas is special in a lot of ways, one of which being that we have periods where we have too much water, and then periods where we have not enough,” Dr. Ryan King, associate professor of biology, said. “Understanding how these extremes ultimately affect our ability to manage aquatic resources was the reason for looking into this.”

BRISBANE: Controlling nutrient run off in our waterways might help decrease the incidence of toxic blue-green algae blooms, researchers have said. Rising global temperatures and increased nutrient loads can drive toxic blue-green algae, or cyanobacterial, blooms which, when they enter waterways, can be very costly to control.

The St. Mary’s River Watershed Association has received an $80,000 grant for community outreach. It is one of 14 environmental projects on Maryland’s Western Shore that Wednesday received $2.7 million to help reduce pollution to local waterways and the Chesapeake Bay.

Concentrations of nitrogen, phosphorus and some pesticides have increased from 1999-2009 in parts of the North Canadian River watershed, downstream of Oklahoma City, Okla., according to a new U.S. Geological Survey report. Nitrogen and phosphorus are nutrients essential for plant growth, but in high concentrations they can negatively impact aquatic ecosystems and human health.

Many scientists believe that an unfortunate perfect storm of climate change and nutrient runoff will synergistically increase toxic cyanobacterial blooms globally in coming years.

VERMONT - An unusually high concentration of potentially toxic blue-green algae was identified this week on the southwest shore of Missisquoi Bay, scientists reported Thursday. The near-shore sample from Highgate Springs contained more than 940,000 potentially toxic cells per milliliter of water as well as a high concentration of microcystin, the toxin released by the algae.

Maryland chicken farms produce a substantial amount of phosphorous-rich chicken manure, which contributes to pollution in the Chesapeake Bay. One solution to the problem: Turn the poop into power. A new grant program from the U.S. Department of Agriculture will bring $850,000 to Eastern Shore chicken farmers to install technologically advanced systems to convert waste into green energy.

FLORIDA - Nutrients, stormwater management, drought planning and meeting regulatory requirements in the midst of an economic downturn are all concerns for water utilities in EPA Region 4. When it comes to numeric nutrient criteria, Florida has been the Region’s focus in recent months. Many of the major cities in Region 4 are working under Consent Decrees to address CSO/SSO issues.

WASHINGTON -- Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin will be holding a hearing this week on nutrient pollution of waterways nationwide.

MONTANA - Every community in eastern Montana over the last several years has a costly common concern in local government meetings: DEQ requirements for sewage treatment.

CALIFORNIA - About a month ago, thousands of abalone and other invertebrates washed up along the Sonoma coast, killed by what people thought was probably a red tide, a.k.a. a harmful algal bloom. Phytoplankton—photosynthetic organisms like algae and bacteria—can multiply in number, turning the water red with their bright-colored cells and wreaking havoc on marine organisms. An interdisciplinary team of researchers banded together to find out what was going on along the Sonoma coast.

GHANA - A new technology which will aid in the conversion of agricultural waste into valuable biodegradable products has been presented to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) today in Accra.

CHESAPEAKE BAY - Efforts to restore the Chesapeake could be hampered by the failure of federal and state agencies to agree on clear goals to restore habitats, rebuild fish and wildlife populations and other priorities, according to a congressional report. The Government Accountability Office, a nonpartisan congressional watchdog, said that while states and the EPA have clear objectives to achieve Bay water quality goals, there is no consensus for many other restoration objectives.

CHESAPEAKE BAY - From streams whose banks were shredded by floodwaters in New York, to a cascade of chocolate-brown water that spread halfway down the Chesapeake, severe late summer weather delivered a heavy blow to the Bay and its watershed.

TOPEKA | State parks officials are assessing the impact of large-scale, blue-green algae blooms at Kansas lakes and reservoirs that kept people and animals out of the lakes this summer.