Despite prior blue green algae warnings from officials, tourism is picking up along Lake Texoma in Texas, according to a published report.

Public health and environmental officials in Texas have struggled to battle an outbreak of blue green algae in waterways across the state over the past decade. Such algae blooms tend to spread during the hot, summer months, but mild winter weather throughout the U.S has helped drive their growth, particularly in Texas.

The Lone Star State has started algae removal campaigns in an effort to control the rapid spread of blue green algae blooms, though officials have reported middling results. KXII News reports that although blue green algae have forced officials to issue warnings along Lake Texoma, cabins along the lake are booked to capacity throughout the summer months.

Texoma Destinations owner Michael Tucker said that local residents and tourists had grown more confident in algae removal efforts over the past few months. He said that an improving economic outlook and upbeat environmental reports had emboldened visitors, prompting the uptick in bookings.

"Our reservation team so far has probably exceeded what we did last year, we are probably 400 reservations into this year," he said.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is continuing to study Lake Texoma as it works to rid the waterway of the algae blooms. Blue green algae blooms can impose harsh environmental and public health consequences on local ecosystems. They are toxic to both human and animal life, and they create hypoxic zones in waterways, or areas where the oxygen content is so depleted that marine life can no longer survive.

Josh Wingfield, an expert on blue green algae, noted that rising phosphorous and nitrogen concentrations often spurred the growth of blue green algae. Municipalities in Texas and elsewhere in the U.S. have considered using alum to remove phosphorous from wastewater, while others have employed nutrient removal chemicals as a means of combating rising chemical levels. In Texas, a number of environmental factors have complicated algae removal efforts.

Nevertheless, Wingfield said that recent testing indicated such initiatives are slowing the growth of the blue green algae blooms in Lake Texoma. He said that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers routinely tests the lake to ensure it is safe for recreationalists.


"This right here, is Little Mineral Arm of the lake, we've got eight different areas that we sample each month," he said. Tests taken in February indicated blue green algae blooms had abated enough that they no longer posed any sort of public health or environmental threat, according to Wingfield.

 

Posted on April 5th, 2012 under Agricultural Runoff, Lake and Pond Algae Control, Wastewater News, Water Regulations