Several inland lakes in Ohio battling same algal blooms as in Lake Erie
Updated Apr 12, 2020; Posted Apr 12, 2020
By Brian Albrecht, The Plain Dealer
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The same green carpet of toxic algae that has rolled across Lake Erie every year also affects Ohio’s inland lakes.
Efforts to thwart that invasion can vary in terms of techniques and success, depending on the local conditions that created these harmful
algal blooms (HABs).
CHIPPEWA LAKE
One of Ohio’s largest inland glacial lakes, at 325 acres, Chippewa started experiencing HABs about four years ago. But the concern was immediate.
“It’s become a nice place, more people moving in, then all of a sudden this hits the fan,” said Ed Stevens, whose family has owned a cottage on
the lake “since forever.”
“My grandkids and kids all want to go swimming. What’s happening?”
Temporary advisories warning people and pets not to come in contact with the water, and no-wake warnings to avoid churning-up the algae
have been posted at the lake. But the Medina County Park District, which has owned the lake since 2007, and a local community group are
looking at more lasting, corrective measures to offset the usual suspects: nutrient runoff from agricultural fields, phosphorus build-up in steadily
deepening sediment and a shortage of natural water-filtering wetlands.
“One of the largest problems we have is with sediment [resulting from] generations of neglect or abuse in the watershed. You’ve got failing
septic systems, storm water runoff, agricultural runoff,” said park director Nate Eppink. “Even if you cut off the flow of [algae-feeding] nutrients
entering the lake today, you still have decades of accumulation on the bottom of the lake.”
Dredging that sediment would be an expensive option, “millions of dollars, and the park’s annual budget is only $5.5 million,” Eppink said.
For now, restoration of wetlands, as was done with a 51-acre parcel near the lake last year, is a much better long-term option, said Jim Spetz,
the park’s natural resource manager. There also are efforts to replace nearby croplands with native, nutrient-absorbing plants.
Last August, Chippewa Lake was targeted by an Israeli firm, BlueGreen Water Technologies, for a free and ultimately successful test of its
anti-algal product, Lake Guard. However, Spetz said, “We found a Band-Aid [with Lake Guard], but the infection is still there.”
The park will continue using the product, which does not harm fish or wildlife, on an as-needed basis, at an estimated $50,000-$60,000 per
application cost, according to Eppink.
Local volunteers formed the Save the Lake Coalition in 2017 to assist in long-term solutions for Chippewa Lake and have worked with area
agencies to apply for grants. This included the purchase of a water-quality sensor, and an educational outreach campaign for homeowners and
farmers, according to coalition member Mark Krosse.
Residential development in the Chippewa Lake area does not seem to have been affected by HABs in the lake, according to Eppink. “The east
side of the county is exploding at a very rapid rate, and there’s a lot of new construction around Chippewa and points nearby.”
That new construction, however, means reducing the natural vegetation that once filtered water runoff to the lake, Spetz said.
For now, the rehabilitation effort will continue educating people on ways to curb nutrient runoff and restore natural habitats.
Both inland lakes in Geauga County are part of Akron’s water supply and have tested positive for HABs in the past. But the algae
has never gotten into the distribution system, and the city has a few advantages over other inland lakes in HAB prevention, said Jeff
Brownowski, Akron’s Water Supply Bureau manager.
“We have full control of the lakes, which gives us the opportunity to raise and lower lake levels [disturbing algae growth],” and the
land surrounding the waters are intentionally kept undeveloped to provide natural vegetative water filtering, Brownowski said.
Additionally, swimming by people or pets is not allowed. The city also began measuring the water for genetic markers capable of
producing microcystin toxins in 2014, and if regular twice-weekly sampling gets a hit, testing is increased to three times weekly,
Brownowski said. “We have an algal toxin response plan in place when we find a toxin in the lake,” he said. “Our first line of defense
is an algaecide that simply prevents the algae from growing anymore.” Adjusting water levels means “we don’t let the water sit and
get warm” and grow algae, Brownowski said.
At a treatment level, “we spend millions of dollars specifically on chemicals associated with removal of toxins,” he said.
Additionally, the city sends out teams to educate area farmers about best management practices to reduce nutrient runoff into the lakes.
GRAND LAKE ST. MARYS
Ohio’s largest inland lake at 13,500 acres, Grand Lake St. Marys has been described as the poster child of HAB affliction.
The lake, located northwest of Columbus, started experiencing problems with HABs in 2009. The state designated the lake,
which is a public drinking water source, as distressed in 2011 due to severe algal blooms.
The watershed draining into the lake is predominantly agricultural, with a long history of livestock farms in the area.
Signs advising no contact with the water were posted, and tourism dropped 16%. Home sales went down by $51 million from
2009-2015, according to one study.
At one point, Grand Lake was considered the most polluted lake, from a nutrient runoff standpoint, in the U.S., and for the past 10
years algal microcystin toxin levels in the lake have far exceeded allowable thresholds, said Stephen Jacquemin, a water quality
specialist with Wright State University.
A program of farm practices designed to reduce fertilizer and manure runoff, dredging over 3000,00 cubic yards of lake sediment
annually, and restoring water-filtering wetlands, are slowly improving the lake’s water quality, Jacquemin said. In 2018, he reported
that phosphorus and nitrates in the lake had been reduced by about 25% over 6 years.
“It’s not there yet. There’s still a long way to go,” he said.
Tourism has rebounded to beyond its 2008 pre-bloom level but has changed from swimmers and beachgoers to birdwatchers and boaters,
said Nick Rentz, president of the Lake Improvement Association.
Property values have similarly improved as microcystin levels have dropped, according to Rentz. “We’re getting back, but we’re not out
of the woods yet by any stretch,” he said.
BUCKEYE LAKE
Residents swear that green laser beams are the best way to scare off Canada geese, which add about 4,000 pounds of feces to algae-feeding
nutrients that flow into Buckeye Lake each year.
It’s one of the solutions employed as part of rehabilitation efforts to reduce HABs in this shallow (average depth 6 feet), 2,800-acre lake that
is Ohio’s oldest state park (1949), located just east of Columbus.
Buckeye Lake has had toxic algal blooms every year since 2010, according to the OEPA, and surrounding agricultural (predominantly crop,
not animal) farms have been cited as the chief contributor to algae-feeding nutrient runoff.
The biggest problem lies in the lake sediment, which has absorbed more than a century’s worth of agricultural runoff and is slowly filling the lake.
A 2017 Ohio State University study estimated that Buckeye Lake residents lost $101 million in home sales from 2009-2015 due to algal blooms.
But that finding is misleading, said Matt Baumann, director of Buckeye Lake for Tomorrow, which has been working to improve conditions at the lake.
A three-year dam reconstruction project drastically dropped the lake water level, creating ideal conditions for algae growth, said Baumann. The dam
project was completed in 2018 and efforts to improve the water quality resumed. These have included working with farmers to reduce nutrient runoff
and installing silt traps in creeks flowing to the lake.
“In the last couple of years, we haven’t had measurable phosphorus in our streams,” Baumann said. “That’s really great for us. The water is coming
in clean. The problem is we have 150 years of sediment.”
Dredging has been going on since 1968, yet Bauman said an additional 5 to 15 million cubic yards of sediment still needs to be removed.