Some satellite images are showing algal blooms forming in Lake St. Clair.
The NASA Earth Observatory captured images on July 28 of algal blooms around the Great Lakes, visible as swirls of green in western Lake Erie and in Lake St. Clair.
Last month, researchers with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the United States predicted ‘severe’ algal blooms for Lake Erie this summer. Read the full story here.
NASA Earth Observatory said in a report that algae in this basin thrive when there is an abundance of nutrients (many from agricultural runoff) and sunlight, as well as warm water temperatures.
“The season runs through summer and peaks in September,” NASA Earth Observatory officials stated.
“Research confirmed that in 2011, phosphorus from farm runoff combined with favorable weather and lake conditions to produce a bloom three times larger than previously observed. The researchers noted that if land management practices and climate change trends continue, the lake is likely to see more blooms like the 2011 event.”
Harmful algal blooms can lead to fish kills, NASA Earth Observatory officials stated.
“They also can affect the safety of water for recreation and for consumption (as was the case in Toledo, Ohio, and southeast Michigan during a 2014 bloom). As of July 30, 2015, drinking water was reported to be safe in these areas. In April 2015, NASA and several partners announced a new multi-agency effort to develop an early warning indicator for harmful algal blooms in fresh water. The system is expected to make ocean color satellite imagery more easily available to environmental and water quality managers.”
Algal blooms in Lake Erie has been a hot topic locally, as the Chatham-Kent Public Utilities Commission continues to deal with the issue.
Currently, the city of Chatham receives their drinking water from Lake Erie.
Stantec Consulting, who was hired by the Chatham-Kent PUC to do an environmental assessment about the future of Wallaceburg’s drinking water, says the “preferred alternative” for Wallaceburg is to connect to the Chatham water supply.
Read the latest on the story here: ‘Passionate’ meeting held about Wallaceburg’s water
A preferred solution is expected to be presented to the PUC by October of this year.
– Photo credit: NASA Earth Observatory images by Joshua Stevens, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey.
