By CELESTE BAUMGARTNER
Ohio Correspondent COLUMBUS, Ohio — A few weeks ago Grand Lake St. Mary’s (GLSM) was a smelly mess of bluish-green foam. The cause was an algae outbreak unlike anything seen there before. Agricultural runoff is the most likely cause. As a result, Ohio farmers may be looking at more regulations.
“The smell was very bad, but the visual impact of seeing the lake with this bluish-green turquoise very thick foam - it was unlike anything I’ve ever seen on any lake,” said Chris Korleski, director of Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA). “OEPA and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, as well as the community, they were very concerned.
“Certainly there are other sources – there is no question about that – but we think the bulk is probably coming from agricultural nutrients being washed in,” he said.
Gov. Ted Strickland was advised of the situation and he requested technical expertise and financial assistance from the USEPA and USDA.
The problems at GLSM reflect issues of nonpoint source pollution all over the country. Lake Erie is also having problems with algal blooms, Korleski said. OEPA has been working with local entities, the Soil and Water Conservation District, NRCS and others to encourage voluntary best management practices on the land.
“Nevertheless the question I have is – are voluntary programs like that going to be sufficient?” Korleski asked.
More enforcement authority with respect to agricultural runoff may be necessary, he said. The state needs to looks at all options, voluntary and perhaps regulatory.
“This is a crisis at GLSM; no question about that, and we are concerned about the impacts both ecological and economic that it is having upon the lake,” he said. “But we also realize that what we don’t want to get into here is pointing fingers and anger ... let’s not be hasty to blame the agricultural community for our problems. This part of the state has been very economically-viable for a long time and the engine that has fueled that prosperity has been the agricultural community.”
Although the bluish foam that afflicted GLSM is mostly gone now, it has been replaced by a different kind of algae. The no-contact advisory (don’t touch the water) is still in place. Bacteria and toxins of concern are still present.
Phosphorous is the biggest runoff problem, Korleski said. Current runoff, called external loading, definitely needs to be remedied. Yet, a lot of phosphorous – mostly from the agricultural watershed south of the lake, but also from septic tanks in the area and lawn fertilizer – has been washed into the lake over a long period of time. That’s called internal loading.
“That phosphorous, in a way, it’s a gift that keeps on giving,” Korelski said. “The phosphorous can be taken up by these blue-green algaes, it can cause a bloom, the algae will die, and the phosphorous is available again to cause another algal bloom. One of the options we’re looking at is trying to stabilize, or to basically lock up the phosphorous that is already in the water.”
No one knows how long that might take.
“The one point I am trying to emphasize to everyone is that just focusing on the ‘blame game’ is not going to be productive,” he said. “While we do believe that this is largely coming from agriculture runoff ... I want to emphasize this is not to wage war on the agricultural community, which has been responsible for so much of the prosperity of that area.”
For more information visit www.epa.state.oh.us |
