Toxic Algae Takes Over Kentucky's Lakes

By Sara Jerome

Toxic algae levels have shot up in Kentucky. 

"At some locations on five popular Kentucky lakes, the concentrations of toxic algae last month were more than 10 times higher than the level that previously prompted the Army Corps of Engineers to urge public caution," Gannett's Courier-Journal recently reported

Experts believe health risks will drop as the weather gets colder, according to the report. But they also expect the algae be back in force next year.

In Kentucky, the algae are at "cautionary levels" at Taylorsville, Nolin, Rough River, Barren River and Green River lakes, the report said. Experts cited in the article believe more lakes are probably affected, too. A spate of swimmers got ill over the summer.

“It’s probably in a lot more than just the five lakes," said Stephen Carpenter, director of the Center for Limnology at the University of Wisconsin, in the Courier-Journal piece. “The more we look, the more we find them,” he said. “And a lot of that is because the technology for finding them is becoming more widespread.”

The Army Corps of Engineers manages the five lakes in question. The agency addressed questions about the blooms in its literature for the public, including concerns about tap water. 

"If a lake provides water to local water/utility companies, the utility companies are notified of the [harmful algae bloom] so that they can take precautionary measures in treating the drinking water. For specific inquiries about your drinking water quality, contact your utility office," it said

The Corps’ mandate is to clean "sites contaminated with hazardous, toxic or radioactive waste and material in an effort to sustain the environment."

Kentucky has run into criticism about whether it is being open enough about the status of lakes infested with toxic algae, according to another Courier-Journal piece. Officials have not been immediately disclosing which lakes are undergoing testing.

"State officials are taking a risk by not being open with the public, warned Judy Peterson, executive director of the Kentucky Waterways Alliance, which has been urging tighter controls on the pollution that feeds the blooms," the Courier-Journal reported. 

The Alliance works to reduce the algae blooms by focusing on nutrients. It tracks #402 KPDES permit applications to make sure they have sufficient discharge limits for phosphorus and nitrogen." Those are point source discharge permits. 

Dealing with blue-green algae is an expensive undertaking, Water Online previously reported. To read a tally of those costs, click here

Image credit: "Algae," © 2006 Andrea Pokrzywinski, used under an Attribution 2.0 Generic license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en

 

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