Opportunities may include controlled drainage structures with bioreactors, blind inlets instead of tile risers, and saturated buffer strips. The Nature Conservancy ($650,000) for invasive species control. There are two categories of pollution that contribute to Lake Erie’s phosphorus loads: pollution from point sources like pipes from factories or water treatment plants, and non-point sources like runoff from fields. from Lake Erie Binational Nutrient Management Strategy, 2011. “We estimate that about 60 percent are negatively buoyant, so it will start to sink after entering the lake”, said Daily. The scientists plan on modeling Lake Ontario over the next few years. Stratification impacts the internal dynamics of the lake physically, biologically and chemically, and this in turn affects the amount of dissolved oxygen present at the bottom of the lake. About one third of the total population of the Great Lakes basin resides within the Lake Erie watershed. These events negatively impact the lake’s critical $12.9 billion tourism industry and world class fishery. Understanding the source of the phosphorus pollution that threatens the health of Lake Erie, and of the communities that depend on it, is the first step toward finding solutions. Stratification refers to the layering that occurs, particularly in the warmer months, where a warmer, less dense layer of water (the epilimnion) overlies a colder denser layer (the hypolimnion). Not all algae are harmful. Algae are natural components of marine and fresh water ecosystems, and form the foundation of most aquatic food chains. Exposed agricultural and urban lands, particularly in southwest Ontario and northwest Ohio, contribute immense sediment loads to the lake. What works for one farm or livestock operation might not work for another, and changing the way farmers do business could have large economic costs. Outbreaks of cyanobacteria that release toxins are commonly called “toxic algae” blooms. Tile drains are simply drain pipes buried beneath fields to help lower the water table and collect surface water after it has filtered through a few feet of soil and then whisk it away from the fields to avoid standing water and surface runoff. NOAA Image Measurement of Depth of Water in Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair Image. Stone Laboratory, Forty years of water monitoring data has made a huge difference to our understanding of what’s happening in Lake Erie, and can help us make smart decisions about the steps we need to take. Approximately twelve million people live in the watershed, including seventeen metropolitan areas with more than 50,000 residents. Forty-five years ago, Lake Erie was so polluted that TIME magazine warned it was “in danger of dying by suffocation.” A massive clean-up effort, involving everyone from local businesses to state and national policymakers, brought the lake back from the brink. Plastic has been found in every aspect of our lives, but it still has not shown to alter health. The most commonly occurring groups of freshwater algae are diatoms, green algae, and blue-green algae, which are more correctly known as cyanobacteria. This is a fixable problem. The shallowness of the basin and the warmer temperatures make it the most biologically productive of the Great Lakes. While we can be quite certain about the sources of the majority of the phosphorus pollution, the solutions are harder to pinpoint. Designed by Elegant Themes | Powered by WordPress, Learn more about the difference between algae and harmful algae, Learn more about the sources of phosphorus, Learn more about phosphorus stratification, Learn more about the different types of phosphorus. “When you look at the 3D pathways, a lot of it is going to end up sitting at the bottom, so people have already found in the sediment that there’s a lot more plastic in there than there is in the water.”. Of all the Great Lakes, Lake Erie is exposed to the greatest stress from urbanization, industrialization and agriculture.