Comments on: Algae attacks Ohio’s largest inland lake; wet spring and manure blamed

By: Suzie

Suzie — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 13:02:25 +0000

Hmmm. Farmers started to voluntarily comply with the new distressed watershed rules in the Grand Lake St. Marys watershed this past winter. This meant little to no manure went out over the winter months. This makes it next to impossible for manure to run off. I wonder where the facts from this article originated? Obviously not from someone who cares to tell the whole story. Do your homework! Just for the record, the lead picture is from 2010….lake is green this year, just like it has been since it was built, AND the microcystin levels at all the beaches are 20 or below! This means they are below the World Health Organization level for warning against recreational use! Go boat! Go swim! Don’t fall victim to the press!

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By: Local Dude

Local Dude — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 03:19:20 +0000

The EPA is also working with the park service to rebuild some wetlands along the shorelines. Those will help to filter out SOME of the nutrients, but absolutely nowhere conceivably close to the amount needed.

The local farmers need to better install buffer zones between their fields and their drainage ditches, creeks, and streams. Not many of them have these buffer zones (swaths of vegetation between the field and where the water is going, that help to filter out nutrients), and those that do many times mow them down and bale them, which helps absolutely nothing in terms of nutrient removal.

The farmers need to start caring more and doing more to solve the problems they are causing.

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By: Jane

Jane — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 03:10:15 +0000

An expensive solution to treat the aggravated symptoms, but not the cause. Why does the nation’s largest concentration of manure get a free pass to flush into this watershed in the first place?

Thanks to the points on how alum may affect lake chemistry and biology.

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By: jim

jim — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 15:43:03 +0000

The Farm Bureau deserves some of the blame for this disaster.

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By: Janice

Janice — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 14:52:13 +0000

Excellent point Harold. Lake users should also be aware that aluminum concentrations will go up in the lake, at least temporarily, and aluminum can bioaccumulate in fish. The alum will affect pH, which might have a negative effect on invertebrates and fish in the lake.

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By: Harold

Harold — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 13:21:56 +0000

Wow. They want to spend $3.4 million on a temporary “fix” instead of going after the CAFOs that are causing the problem. How backwards can you get?

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By: Janice

Janice — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 12:43:18 +0000

The statement “Manure is treated chemically to remove phosphorus before it is spread onto fields” is not true. It is not possible to remove phosphorus from manure. One of the reasons manure is used as a fertilizer for agriculture is that it contains phosphorus. I suspect the manure is treated with alum to reduce phosphorus SOLUBILITY. The phosphorus is still there, and a significant portion of it must still be soluble, otherwise manure would not be an effective fertilizer.

It is important to understand that the two key nutrients that limit algal growth are phosphorus and nitrogen. Cyanobacteria can grow so quickly and outcompete other algae because they can fix nitrogen (obtain it from the air, where it is abundant). Thus it is the phosphorus in the manure that is allowing them to bloom because it is abundant and no longer limits their growth.

In essence, the statement negates the whole point of the article. The manure causes the blooms BECAUSE it contains phosphorus. If the phosphorus was removed, there would not be a problem, nor would manure be an effective fertilizer.

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