Lake Erie Green Shore Line

[Jewelbee]

I live very near to Lake Erie in Niagara.

I walk the beach almost daily with the dog and I don't think I have ever seen the algae so thick on the shoreline this early in the year. It is like a mud bog close to shore in spots about 20/ 30 ft out.

The water is quite warm close to shore but cools off about 50 ft out. So is it the warm shoreline?

Could this be due to the excessive rainfall? Not like we had warm temps early in the year.

Also, yesterday, I noticed 1000's of dead bait fish on the shore line too.

What's going on with the lake this year?

Hope it clears up, it smells disgusting too.

Edited June 7, 2011 by Jewelbee

[Billy Bob]

With recent heavy rains it could be sewage.....as many old sewage plants can't handle the heavy load when it rains because so many people still have their sump pumps hooked in with the sanitary lines and some storm sewers over flow into them.

 

I know in the summer they often close beaches here in the Buffalo area just for that reason....water tests bad every time we have lots of rain in the summer.

 

Bob

[Joeytier]

With heavy rains, comes an increased amount of untreated sewage entering water bodies, which means increased eutrophication, namely phosphorus, which seems to promote the growth of algae and not much else.

 

I'd imagine lake erie gets hit with a large amount of excess agricultural fertilizer (which contains phosphorus), given its location.

[dave524]

With heavy rains, comes an increased amount of untreated sewage entering water bodies, which means increased eutrophication, namely phosphorus, which seems to promote the growth of algae and not much else.

 

I'd imagine lake erie gets hit with a large amount of excess agricultural fertilizer (which contains phosphorus), given its location.

 

Exactly, that was very common back in the late sixties , early 70's when Erie was essentially a dead lake and the fishing really stunk. The recovery of Erie from those days is probably the best success story on the Great Lakes, I'm afraid that this year with the increased runoff with record rainfall the increase in phosphous load has fertilized the algae and a majour bloom will occur this summer

[OhioFisherman]

Exactly, that was very common back in the late sixties , early 70's when Erie was essentially a dead lake and the fishing really stunk. The recovery of Erie from those days is probably the best success story on the Great Lakes, I'm afraid that this year with the increased runoff with record rainfall the increase in phosphous load has fertilized the algae and a majour bloom will occur this summer

 

Ohio I believe was paying farmers to leave a wider area along rivers and streams natural, un tilled un planted, natural growth to help filter some of the run off from their fields into the waterways. With the increase in the price of crops it wasn`t compensating them for the loss of available acreage to plant. There was talk of stopping the program, cash strapped.

 

Like the posts before a lot of issues contributing to it.

[smally21]

north shore marina on longpoint bay was 2 inches thick with slimy algae last week. water is low 60s,its may, and my boatand trailer looks like i salvaged them off the bottom