allgie

[shawnb1977]

whats going on with the lake?

[gregnwtf]

whats going on with the lake?

The algea growth bloom is coming from a wet Sept and the runnoff from farm fields, chemicals from lawns and farms, sewage systems overloaded ( human ****) and flowed straight into tributaries and the lake. I was in it Saturday around the islands and it looks thick and dark colored and in patchy streaks. A biologist said it will be like this for a month yet. Its gotten worst over the last few years and something needs done. The algea has moved into Lorain area waters this week and extends just west of the islands. Algea is feeding off the stuff I mentioned above. Just not sure how it will affect the fish over time. The cure ? Wish I knew , but probably stiff regulations on chemicals and sewage is a great start. I have nothing against farmers, but something needs changed for the good.
Capt. Greg

[eriepro]

3 reports in the last few days state current bloom is worst recorded. see sandusky register tomorrow. the first few years i chartered mid seventies it was also very bad. remember green boat wakes for miles. phosphorous from fertilizer runnoff is only part of the problem, it acts like a fuel and feeds the algae, sewage and the interaction between zebra, quagga muscles, also contribute, relaxed regulations havn't helped things either. if left unchecked it can and will harm our great fishery.Recent strong winds and heavy rain has helped clear maumee bay and area west of west sister, warmer water makes that location bloom first, you also get more farm runnoff from the Maumee and Detroit rivers into the western basin. now that the bloom has pushed east of the islands the papers have really started to pick it up! Capt Ed

[Fishin Crazy]

I live near Grand Lake St. Marys and have seen first had what algae growth can do to the water.
And how it can cause sickness to people and fish.
Last year a lot of fish died in that lake.
It was a little better this year because of public awareness and actions that were taken but its going to take a long time to stop the problem .
I hate to see this starting in Lake Erie, everybody who cherishes fishing there needs to raise A lot of H**L about the bloom. And bring it to the attention of the public before the lake ends up like some other smaller lakes in Ohio.

[Bryan]

This weekends windy conditions appeared to have blown the algea out of here. The water looked much nicer today when I was up flying, this is Catawba Island point and you can see Kellys in the background.

[troy1976]

I work in the fertilizer industry directly with Farmers. I can say that over the last 10 years the usage of phosphate based fertilizers has dropped every year. Phosphourous bonds very tightly to the soil particles in the ground. The only way for it to run off is for the dirt to run off. In the spring of the year with heavy rains this is typically a problem...look at the satelite images in april and may. By June, the rains are sporadic enough that there is very little runoff out of the fields. When you look at the tile drains in ditches during june july august rains they predominantly run fairly clear. Exceptions are the abnormally heavy rains we have had this past september. Also in the last 10 years the amount of acres that have had drainage done to them has shot through the roof. This fact is contributing more to the issues with the Lake Erie watershed than any other single factor. Farmers see immediate economic benefits from tiling, and right now farming is a very profitable business and most are doing whatever they need to increase the productivity of their ground.
I am not saying that other areas cause all the problems with the lake, but Farmers are not needlessly overapplying fertilizers. Commercial phosphate fetilizer has become increasingly costly and trust me the farmers watch their pennies and spend their money in areas of their operations that benefit them the most. Drainage is the number one area of a farm that will make money for a farmer.
I didn't mean to stir up a hornet nest here, but wanted to put an opinion in from the ag industry. Trust me I love to fish way more than I like to work....so I am for protecting the lake in practical manners.

[airshot]

whats going on with the lake?

One of the major contributors to the western end is the maumee river where the city of toledo dumps their sewage into the river. The city pays regular penalties to the EPA for runoff, but the penalties are far cheaper than proper repair. Those who have the power constantly look the other way as penalty money continues to flow into their bank accounts. The Toledo sewer system
was outdated many years ago, were told not to expand and make necessary repairs but nothing has ever been done, "can't afford it" is the attitude, however they keep expanding the system and collecting more sewage from outlying areas and nothing is done about it. More than half of lake eries problems come from the maumee river and another major contributor is the ottawa river next door. These two make up roughly 75% of the mess in the lake, but nothing is being done except more studies.......

Airshot

[LEfriend]

One of the major contributors to the western end is the maumee river where the city of toledo dumps their sewage into the river. The city pays regular penalties to the EPA for runoff, but the penalties are far cheaper than proper repair. Those who have the power constantly look the other way as penalty money continues to flow into their bank accounts. The Toledo sewer system
was outdated many years ago, were told not to expand and make necessary repairs but nothing has ever been done, "can't afford it" is the attitude, however they keep expanding the system and collecting more sewage from outlying areas and nothing is done about it. More than half of lake eries problems come from the maumee river and another major contributor is the ottawa river next door. These two make up roughly 75% of the mess in the lake, but nothing is being done except more studies.......

Airshot

It is agreed and true that Toledo is one of many serious sources, but not accurate that nothing is being done and not true that EPA is looking the other way. In 2002, after being sued by US and then Ohio EPA (under basis of 1972 Federal Clean Water Act), Toledo signed a consent decree agreeing to a $500 million plan - yes that is spend $500 million on a long term control plan. The first step was doubling of their Bayview sewage plant capacity, (including a 25 million gallon holding basin for storm events) and since 2006 all flows reaching that plant have been treated. They have 25 separate projects on line in the plan. 8 are today under construction, 7 are in design phase, the rest are scheduled in the consent decree signed by the city, EPA, and the courts. The schedule for the rest requires completion within the next 9 years. True, not overnight, but then 60% of remaining projects are started or in design, and $500 million ain't chicken feed. So it is inaccurate that they and EPA aren't doing anything on that part of the problem.

All the details and facts are available for the looking at:

http://www.toledowaterwaysinitiative.com/about/

[troy1976]

Snook-
Yes Farmers who raise corn and wheat use a lot of nitrogen...But Nitrogen rarely runs off due to the volatile nature of its chemical compound. THere are 3 most common forms of nitrogen that are used in modern farm practices. 1. Anhydrous AMmonia, 2. Urea Ammonium Nitrate (UAN or 28% solution), and 3. Urea. Anhydrous ammonia is injected into the ground in nitrite form which is unavailable for plant nutrient uptake. It goes through a conversion process into a nitrate form which is then plant available. This product is only used in corn production and is the most succeptible to leaching of the 3 sources of nitrogen. It forms chemical bonds with organic matter in the soil which generally hold it in place. As I said in my earlier post heavy spring rains have the best chance to leach nitrogen, but most early preplant applications of ammonia have a stabilizer added to it which helps hold it in place. I have done studies on this product and it retains 75 to 90 plus percent of the applied nitrogen-You will always have some leaching due to soil type differences. For example sandy groud typically has lower organic matter and thus cannot hold as much ammonia in place versus clay soil. Most farmers know this and adjust their nitrogen plans by the type of soil they are working with. Both UAN and Urea are already in nitrate form when they hit the ground. THese two have more of a chane to leach. However there are also stabilizer products that are used with each of them. Also both of these products will actually volatilize into the air if left on top of the ground quicker than they will leach into a water system. The same holds with heavy spring rains, but most of the nitrogen used in corn production is applied in mid to late april all the way into june, depending on planting timing. Wheat fertilizer is applied from late february till mid april. These wheat applications have the best chance to end up in lake erie. THat being said though nitrogen cost per acre to a farmer is approaching $100/acre, so we try to make the applications as timely as possible to prevent loss.
The biggest difference between phosphourous and nitrogen is how phosphourus bonds to soil particles and nitrogen bonds to organic matter. When the maumee river turns brown that is soil sediment which probably has some phosphourus tied to it. As I said earlier thogh farmers have cut way back on phosphourus applications and most apply as they are planting any more. There are also laws in place regarding application of manure...but there is very little livestock in NW ohio and SE michigan anymore compared to 30 40 years ago.

To answer your questions regarding farm drainage, yes farmers put tile in the ground to help draw moisture out of their fields. THese tile are roughly 3 feet below ground, depending on the slope of the field. A 1/2 inch raid more than likely will not make it to the tile as the ground soaks it up especially if the ground is fairly dry. A hard 2 inch rain will actually have more surface runoff as well if it comes down hard and fast. These rains too have little to do with fertilizere runoff as the water doesn't go down in the soil profile. A rain like we are having now is the kind that tends to get into creeks as the ground becomes saturated. Water that moves through tile ends up in creeks and streams that eventually end up somewhere most likely lake erie. Tile help dry up fields quicker so that they can plant earlier. Once planting is over tile also help get the rain off as the crop is growing. Heavy rains can really damage young crops as their root systems become stunted.

I probably made this as clear as mud...but I hope I helped clear the picture a little more. Let me know if you have any more questions.
troy

[Snook]

Troy--WOW!!! Thank you for your great reply/post. It was informative and I do know the fertilizer induxtry is trying to get better and more efficient every year, but we all know more work still needs to be done. I fished Lake Erie 2 weeks ago and it looked worse than in the 1970's when I fished it, so something is up and nobody seems to have answers. My guess it is a combination of many factors--probably the Maumee river and Portage river and Lake St. Clair into Lake Erie being the 3 biggest "issues" that have to be looked into. It is a little sad when you fish and say there is no way you would swim in it--sure the fish also are pissed-HaHa. We did manage to catch some Smallies around Pelee and Sugar Island, but not the number we were hoping for, and we even had "candy" aka softshells to fish with. Hope the cold winter kills the algae for good and look forward to May fishing.