No dog swimming advisories yet, but Erie's harmful algal bloom season could arrive soon

Dog owners beware, harmful algal bloom season could be near.

The blooms, which can produce toxins that cause potentially life-threatening illness in humans and some animals, usually are found in the waters around Presque Isle State Park and county reservoirs starting in July and August. But the first blooms that exceeded the threshold for dog swimming advisories last year were discovered in late May.

"Dog owners should always be aware of the possibility of harmful algal blooms," said Jeanette Schnars, executive director of the Regional Science Consortium, which tests for the blooms' toxins. "They should look for signs, which are posted in the areas with the blooms."

HAB testing started in early May and no advisories have yet been posted in Erie County. Samples taken from 33 waterfront locations are tested every Thursday until October.

At various times last summer, more than 20 of the county's waterfront locations had HAB toxins that exceeded the threshold for dog swimming advisories. None of them exceeded the threshold for humans, Schnars said.

The threshold for dogs is lower than that for humans because dogs are more likely to drink the water and will also lick it off their fur.

Enough funding to test all four toxins for first half of 2024 season

One change this year is that the rising cost of testing has forced the Regional Science Consortium to look at cutting back on the number of common toxins associated with harmful algal blooms, Schnars said.

Originally, Schnars and her staff were only going to test weekly for microcystins, the most common toxin, every couple of weeks for saxitoxins and anatoxin-A, and a few times a season for cylindrospermopsin, which they have never seen in exceedance.

But Schnars said in an email Saturday that there was a change.

"We recently received good news that we will have funding to test for all four cyanotoxins for the first half of the summer," Schnars said.

Besides posting signs at the locations of the blooms, people can find HAB advisories on the Erie County government website, under "Departments," then "Erie County Department of Health."

Algae blooms sometimes are not visible when algae sinks

HABs often resemble pea soup or spilled green paint, but the blooms aren't always apparent. Sometimes the algae that creates them can sink to the bottom of the bay or lake but the toxins, which are not visible, remain near the top.

Dog owners are advised not to allow their pets to swim anywhere close to an advisory, because water currents can move the toxins downstream.

Despite all the advisories posted last year, the number declined slightly, from 285 in 2022 to 246 in 2023.

"It might be due to the fact we are seeing water levels come back up in the lake and bay," said Breanna Adams, director of environmental health services for the Erie County Department of Health. "When the levels were really low, we had more advisories."

Besides higher temperatures, HAB growth is controlled by the amount of fertilizer in the water. Rainstorms can wash fertilizers into the streams and creeks that empty into Lake Erie and Presque Isle Bay, and the nutrients from the fertilizer feed the algae.

"The long-term solution to HABs is best management practices, like proper fertilizer application," Schnars said. "We can all be part of the solution."

Contact David Bruce at [email protected]. Follow him on X @ETNBruce.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Harmful algae bloom season could be near in Lake Erie waterways