Algal blooms are now in all 50 states as well as other parts of the world

Algal blooms beyond western Lake Erie aren’t particularly new, but they aren’t going away anytime soon, either.

We’re not talking about high-profile blooms in China, Africa, or South Florida that make headlines and last for months.

There are many lesser-known blooms closer to home for Toledoans that are short-lived yet still potentially serious with their own set of health advisories.

In Lenawee County, a short drive from Toledo, cyanobacteria — the fancy name for often-toxic, blue-green algae — was confirmed by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy in Lake Hudson near Clayton, Mich., on Aug. 21.

Michigan EGLE also confirmed cyanobacteria in Devils Lake near Manitou Beach, Mich., on Aug. 30.

The same state environmental regulatory agency also went out to sample Long Lake in Hillsdale County on Sept. 11 after being notified about a possible bloom that had set up there. But the agency said it appeared to have dissipated by the time it had staffers arrive to collect water samples.

In years past, there have been algal blooms reported in the Maumee River near Defiance and in the River Raisin near Monroe, two of several examples where the problem has grown outside of Lake Erie and a short drive from Toledo. There also have been outbreaks in the Maumee in the downtown Toledo area.

Monica Hunt, Lenawee County Health Department health officer, told The Blade that this summer’s Lake Hudson bloom showed a “significant reduction” in recent days and that there was little remaining evidence of the Devils Lake bloom.

Still, it’s the kind of thing that got a lot of buzz on social media.

Multiple staff visits by the county health department have been made to both lakes since their respective blooms were documented, she said.

“However, due to limited public access [most of the lakefront is privately owned], it has been challenging to fully assess the shoreline,” Ms. Hunt said of Devils Lake. “In areas where access was granted and based on a lack of reports from residents, the bloom appears to have dissipated.”

Lake Hudson was found to contain microcystin, the chief toxin of concern in western Lake Erie.

Results of the Devils Lake water samples are still pending, she said.

Lenawee County typically sees one or two algal blooms a year, with both Lake Hudson and Devils Lake experiencing many of them, Ms. Hunt said.

“While it doesn’t appear worse than in the past, this year marked the first time Lake Hudson was tested for toxins, so there isn't toxin data for comparison,” she said.

The bottom line appears to be that small algal blooms are popping up more often.

It’s not just the big ones out in Lake Erie, currently measured by satellite to be some 440 square miles. It has been as large as 600 square miles this summer, yet is expected to be mild compared to other years.

Ohio’s largest inland body of water, Grand Lake St. Marys, has had chronic bouts with algal blooms, too, including this summer.

But so have anything from small reservoirs to Lake Superior, the largest of five Great Lakes and one of the largest lakes in the world. The presence of blooms there has baffled scientists because Lake Superior is exponentially deeper and colder than Lake Erie.

But according to the Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve, reports of algal blooms in Lake Superior began as far back as 2012.

They are short-lived and scattered, yet scientists are unsure why they are occurring in such a deep, cold body of water.

“The majority of the blooms have been small, isolated events,” the Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve said. “Current data indicate that bloom frequency has increased in recent years, but this may be due to increased public awareness and management agency attention.”

The ubiquitous nature of algal blooms was a topic of discussion at the beginning of this year’s annual “Understanding Algal Blooms: State of the Science Conference” at the Stranahan Theater & Great Hall earlier this month.

Betty Staugler opened her talk by telling the audience that harmful algal blooms are now in all 50 states.

“The species are different. Some are freshwater species and some are marine species,” according to Ms. Staugler, who is based in Florida and serves as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration HAB liaison between that agency and its National Sea Grant program, NOAA’s Sea Grant, its National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, CoastWatch, and Integrated Ocean Observing System.

There are parallels between Florida’s Everglades and western Lake Erie in how their ongoing battle with algae worsened in the 1990s, but from different types of agricultural runoff.

Lake Okeechobee blooms began around 1985, and Lake Erie’s returned after a 20-year hiatus in 1995. Those two large bodies of water also have chronic bouts of hypoxia, which is a temporary, low-oxygen condition in portions of the water.

The Kissimmee River basin that flows into the headwaters of Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades has been “a very, very altered system” since hurricane-induced flooding of 1928 that resulted in 24 deaths, Ms. Staugler said.

“Nutrient strategies are regionally specific to the source. Both nitrogen and phosphorus are important,” Ms. Staugler said. “I think we’re learning we can’t ignore the other one no matter where we are.”