“Blue-Green” is the new black. . . but not always in a good way

The term “blue-green” sure is gaining in popularity. When I was a kid, “blue-green” simply described a crayon color.

Today, “blue-green” is sometimes refers to blue-green infrastructure, which is a happy term to describe managing stormwater runoff through rain gardens and bioswales.

However, there’s also a not-so-happy way we’re using “blue-green, and that’s blue-green algae blooms. This algae has been the source of immense problems in Lake Erie.

Some people call it pea soup. But it’s much more dangerous than soup.

(Credit: MERIS/NASA; processed by NOAA/NOS/NCCOS http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2013/20130702_lakeeriehabs.html)

Toxins from the algae bloom made the drinking water undrinkable to half a million people around Toledo in 2014. While we didn’t have a drinking-water emergency this year, the bloom was the largest on record, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Reports from stakeholders at a recent SEMCOG forum on economic development in Monroe County noted the negative impacts the algae bloom was having on tourism.

So what are we doing to prevent this from happening?

In June, Michigan, Ohio, and Ontario signed an agreement to reduce phosphorus contributions to Western Lake Erie by 40 percent. Since then, Michigan has worked to develop its action plan to meet this goal. This plan is now open for public comment.

We commend our state for moving swiftly and proactively to address the problem of phosphorus entering the western basin of Lake Erie. A few highlights from the plan include:

• Maintain the phosphorus reductions achieved in discharges from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department as a result of tightened permit limits.
• Modify the permit limits for the Wayne County Downriver Wastewater Treatment Plan to establish limits consistent with limits at the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department.
• Develop a specific plan to achieve the target reduction in the Maumee River basin, working in close partnership with Indiana and Ohio.

This isn’t the first time Michigan has taken the lead in protecting Lake Erie. Michigan has pursued aggressive phosphorus reductions since the 1960s, when Lake Erie was declared dead. Efforts have focused particularly on the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, which is by far the largest point of discharge to the lake. In 2012, Michigan also implemented a statewide residential fertilizer phosphorus ban.

Take a minute to read the action plan. Public comment is open until December 7th. The state will also will hold a public meeting about the plan from 6-9 p.m. on December 1, at the Monroe Middle School Auditorium, 503 Washington St., in Monroe.