Is Your Favorite Waterway Facing the Threat of Toxic Algae?

...Because harmful algae blooms have increased significantly over the past 40 years and are now found in every state in the country, NRDC set out to find out how states are tracking this growing menace and how (and whether) states are educating and warning the public of the threats posed by toxic algae. We sought data from all 50 states and posted what we received here...

...To our dismay, 16 states reported no data at all. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a toxic algae problem in those states. Take Wisconsin, for example. When contacted, Wisconsin provided no data on harmful algae blooms. But our friends at the Environmental Working Group have collected media reports indicating that Wisconsin has experienced more than 30 toxic algae outbreaks over the last decade that were serious enough to warrant a news report. In fact, a young teenager tragically died in Wisconsin from ingesting toxic algae after swallowing some pond water on a golf course that contained toxic algae....

...The source of the problem is not mysterious:  toxic algae blooms form when excess nutrient pollution flows into a waterbody where conditions -- warm and stagnant water -- favor algae growth. If we want to save our favorite waterways from this growing threat, we need to reduce pollution inputs, increase flows where excessive diversions have turned flowing rivers into stagnant ponds, and tackle climate change.

NRDC is working on implementing these solutions in myriad ways.  To learn more about the causes, threats, and solutions to toxic algae blooms, check out our Freshwater Harmful Algal Blooms 101 guide here. And raise your voice with your local representative to demand more action to address this growing crisis....

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Ken Notes: Great links here and we need to encourage a national solution as well as identifying source point pollution in Wisconsin.