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Report Finds Lake Erie Deteriorating Due to Algae

Source: The Hannah Report

Lake Erie’s ecosystem is in poor condition and the trend is deteriorating, according to a new report put out by the U.S. EPA and the Canadian government.

The “State of the Great Lakes 2017 Highlights Report” ranked the condition of Lake Erie as the worst of the five Great Lakes, putting it in “poor condition.” According to the report, harmful algal blooms resulting from excessive nutrient inputs occur regularly in the western basin and Lake St. Clair during the summer, and have impacted drinking water treatment systems.

The report also noted concerns with beach closures, habitat loss and degradation, and beach fouling the eastern basin.  There is also increased amounts of decaying algae creating depleted dissolved oxygen conditions and low oxygen conditions in the bottom waters of the central basin.

The report said there are some positive ecosystem trends, pointing to increased walleye across the lake and lake sturgeon in the St. Clair-Detroit River System; increased aquatic habitat connectivity due to dam removal and mitigation projects; and declines in Sea Lamprey wounding of fish since 2010. The report also noted Western Lake Erie Cooperative Weed Management Area partners in Ohio and
Michigan have treated more than 13,000 acres of invasive phragmites, resulting in a 70 percent decrease in live phragmites in Ohio and a resurgence of native plants in Michigan and Ohio.

The report rated the condition of fish in the lakes as fair, and said that contaminants in edible portions of fish have declined over time. It did note that concentrations of certain contaminants including PCBs and mercury are stable or slightly increasing.

Drinking water indicators said the trend for both the U.S. and Canada is good and unchanging since the last report since 2011.

The assessment of the lakes was based on nine indicators, including drinking water, beaches, fish consumption, groundwater quality and invasive species. The data for the report was assembled by 180 government and non-government Great Lakes scientists and other experts.

The only indicator to receive poor marks for all of the lakes was invasive species. The report said that while the number of new invasive species entering the Great Lakes has been significantly reduced, invasive species already in the lakes such as the sea lamprey, zebra mussels and purple loosestrife continue to cause more than $100 million annually in economic impacts in the U.S. alone.

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) said the report shows why funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative should not be cut.

“As a kid, I can remember how polluted Lake Erie was. This report demonstrates that, while we have made huge strides in cleaning up our Great Lakes, there is still more to do,” said Brown. “I will continue to work with my Ohio colleagues – Republicans and Democrats alike -- to protect Lake Erie from dangerous proposals to zero out the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. Any cuts to Great Lakes funding threaten the health of Lake Erie and the millions of Ohioans who rely on it, putting jobs and our water supply at risk.”

The report can be found on the Hannah News website at http://www.hannah.com/>Important New Documents>Library.

Story originally published in The Hannah Report on June 22, 2017.  Copyright 2017 Hannah News Service, Inc.

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