Toxic algae threaten Lake Erie

A lesser-known branch of the University of Toledo stands in the sleepy lake town of Oregon, Ohio.

The scientists at the Lake Erie Center study, amongst other things, the increase in harmful algae blooms in the past eight years in Lake Erie.

The blooms are the result of an increase in phosphorus in the water, the presence of which is conducive to growth of the algae.

Most of the growing algae is a toxic type that kills many fish, including the lake perch for which sport and commercial fishermen flock to the lake to catch.

The increase in blooms marks the decrease in fish; and though no one is certain of why there is an increase in the phosphorus, the algae has had an impact on the fishing community of Oregon.

At the Harbor View Yacht Club in Oregon Saturday, members gathered around the bar and expressed disappointment over the blooming of harmful algae in western end Lake Erie.

While some maintain the amount of perch hasn't decreased in recent years, the members of the club were sure of algae growth in the lake.

"It smells horrendous," Vicki Fisher, a member of the club said. "It's not what you want to wake up to in the morning."

The club has seen a decrease in members over the years. However the treasurer of the Harbor View Yacht Club Chuck Rains, who has been a member for 25 years, believes it's due to the economic downturn, not the increase in harmful algae blooms.

"The younger generations don't have the money for an expensive hobby," he said.

Though everyone in Oregon does not agree on why less people have been coming to the lake, most seem to be aware of the changes.

While Rains and many other club members argue they've still been able to catch the maximum allowed amount of perch each fishing trip, Jessica Schabenas, an Oregon resident and fishing enthusiast believes the green algae has taken its toll on at least some species of fish in the lake.

"It's really less fish than you would want to eat," Schabenas said. "Less perch and more sheepshead."

Rains unhappily recalled situations at Put-In Bay and Maumee Bay State Park, where park rangers were forced to close the park due to algae blooms coming too close to the shore.

While some residents of Oregon were quick to blame mismanagement of sewage in Detroit, Charlie Bristol, a board member of Friends of the Detroit River, disagreed.

Friends of the Detroit River are an environmental advocacy group dedicated to protecting the community surrounding the Detroit River – aquatic and human life alike.

"Nobody wants to take the blame, but it's at least five or six conditions coming together that form optimum conditions for the algae," Bristol said.

Among the contributing factors, Bristol pointed to agriculture fertilizer runoff, legacy sediments, urban storm water over flows, and the unusually high temperatures this year as causes of the harmful algae blooms in Lake Erie.

Environmental and agricultural factors were also high on the list for Thomas Bridgeman, professor of environmental sciences at UT who is also a researcher at the Lake Erie Institute in Oregon.

Bridgeman and some UT graduate students have been working at the Lake Erie Center studying the harmful algal blooms since 2002.

According to Bridgeman, the unattractive blue-green colored blooms can grow large enough to clog marinas.

The center has been using a number of techniques to clean the toxic blooms out of the lake, including a remote sensing balloon that monitors the growth of the algae.

Researchers at the center have been investigating causes, such as invasive fish and insect species which are thought to be a contributing factor.

"We're looking at zebra mussels, emerald ash borers and even rebuilding wetland areas which act as a natural filter for the water in Lake Erie," Bridgman said.

While Bridgman and the other researchers at the Lake Erie Center are approaching the algae blooms from a scientific perspective, Kevin Egan, UT assistant professor of economics, sees the solution in subsidies and regulations on fertilizer.

"If you double the price, farmers will treat fertilizer as a scare resource; this is the key insight of economics ," he said."If you change the price, you can change behavior."

Bridgeman, Egan and Bristol agreed about a few aspects of the growth – Lake Erie in many ways is different than most other fresh water systems in the world.

The shallowness of the lake is ideal for any kind of water growth, as it is easier for sunlight to penetrate through less water, according to Bridgeman.

The shallow water and hot summers the lake has experienced in the past few years create ideal growth conditions for any kind of algae, according to Egan.

"One thing that would help is if the farmers would use buffer strips," Bridgman said.

Bristol and Egan both agreed encouraging or forcing farmers to leave buffer strips would prevent more fertilizer from flowing into the lake.

A buffer zone involves farmers laying eight to 20 feet strips of fallow, or uncultivated land, on sides facing the waterfront.

UT is organizing a community Lake Erie cleanup effort on Sept. 24 to help lower the amount of harmful algae blooms in the lake.