View of Thames River. June 27, 2017. (Photo courtesy of Sarah Cowan Blackburn News Chatham-Kent). View of Thames River. June 27, 2017. (Photo courtesy of Sarah Cowan Blackburn News Chatham-Kent).
Chatham

Project Tackles Algal Blooms In Lake Erie (GALLERY)

The Thames River Phosphorus Reduction Collaborative is launching a project with the goal of reducing phosphorus and algal blooms in Lake Erie.

The project officially launched at a press conference in Thamesville on Tuesday morning.

The Ontario Federation of Agriculture and the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative are creators of the collaborative and will be working closely with the municipality, Lower Thames Conservation Authority, as well as other members of the community.

The new group will work to come up with new tools and practices people can use to reduce phosphorus in area watersheds.

Agricultural Specialist Colin Little with the Lower Thames Conservation Authority says the high phosphorus levels in Lake Erie over the years has resulted in temporary beach closures and negative effects to the ecosystem and water quality.

"The issue really is that when we see large amounts of nutrients load into the western base of Lake Erie or Lake St. Clair we're seeing blooms form. Harmful algal blooms release a toxic chemical," explains Little.

Little adds that the high phosphorus levels and algal blooms can also be harmful to aquatic life and fishing industries, as well as to drinking water that is sourced from Lake Erie.

The project manager of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative, Nicola Crawhall, says a community in Toledo, Ohio lost access to drinking water because of this problem.

"Some drinking water systems can't treat [phosphorus] so if they detect it they [have] to close down. In 2014, a city in Toledo didn't have drinking water coming out of their system for three days," says Crawhall.

Crawhall says this issue can only be remedied with all community groups working together.

"We need to work with agriculture to find a solution because municipalities and agriculture both contribute phosphorus and the only way we're going to solve this is to work together," says Crawhall.

More information can be found on the Thames River Phosphorus Reduction Collaborative's website.

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