Let’s Cut the Manure!
Published: Thursday, July 8, 2021
By: Norm Schultz
As we cruise into summer, the hope that our waterways won’t be mired in green goop is about as slim as finding brain cells in Congress!
Still, there is some encouraging news in NOAA’s prediction that this summer may see smaller Harmful Algae Blooms (HABs) that plague so many waterways from the Gulf of Mexico to the lakes of Minnesota. And, even better, there is some new and exciting technology being tested in Ohio that may prove to be a future key to killing HAB’s.
First, NOAA and the National Center for Water Quality Research at Heidelberg University have noted the dry spring, notably in the Northwest Ohio region, could result in a smaller HAB forecast for Lake Erie that has become an iconic example of annual HABs during the late summer months.
Recently, D’Arcy Patrick Egan, editor of The Beacon (Port Clinton, OH), reported: “Because water flow from the Maumee River was below average in March and April, less HAB-creating phosphorus from the manure generated by Ohio’s factory livestock operations and crop farming has made it to Lake Erie.”
But the phosphorus-laden manure from Ohio’s nearly 150 existing concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) is still the number one sustenance that turns our beautiful fresh water into pea-soup-thick mats of green scum. Moreover, a new poll by the Environmental Law & Policy Center (ELPC) reveals 81% now favor imposing new regulations to limit runoff from manure as well as all commercial fertilizers, rather than relying on current voluntary actions that clearly aren’t working.
“The poll results show that Ohioans are fed up with recurring toxic algae outbreaks in Lake Erie and strongly support enforceable regulatory standards needed to reduce manure and commercial fertilizer runoff pollution enough to clean up the lake,” notes Howard Learner, ELPC’s executive director.
But, here’s a head scratcher - Ohio is reportedly considering permits for 10 new CAFOs that are destined to contribute tons of algae-feeding phosphorus to rivers and streams that flow into the lake. Adding new CAFOs is like building new cities without any sewage processing plants.
Action of Another Kind
Another beacon of hope can be found in new technology being tested now in Ohio that may prove to be the key to killing HAB’s.
The discovery comes from the Water Quality Initiative at The Ohio State University, College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES). Basically, the process creates ozone and injects it into a waterway in the form of microscopic bubbles. When these tiny ozone bubbles, called “nanobubbles,” burst in the water they produce hydroxyl radicals and peroxides. Those substances can further destroy harmful algae and possibly help cut off the algae’s food supply, thus preventing HAB’s.
The lead scientist is OSU’s Heather Raymond, nationally recognized for her data-driven water quality programs. On-going tests will help researchers understand how much ozone is needed, if the nanobubble technology can also help prevent blooms, and if there are any potential negative effects to other forms of life and the environment.
According to Chas Antinone Jr., president and chief operating officer of Ohio’s Green Water Solutions, LLC that has a patent on nanobubble technology: “There’s no question that this can solve a lot of water problems in the state of Ohio. Tests already conducted in Port Mayaca, Florida, and in the 60-acre Lake Newport in Youngstown, Ohio, were successful in removing algae and preserving fish life.”
Aggressive testing will continue leading up to planned trials at Ohio’s state park lakes or public water system reservoirs.
Acknowledging it’s unrealistic and too expensive to expect to treat blooms on entire lakes as large as Lake Erie, OSU’s Raymond says there could be another plan of attack. Employing the technology to attack the problem by treating streams that enter big lakes, including Lake Erie, could ultimately prove to be a winning strategy.
Meanwhile, all who love time on any waterway plagued by HAB’s should become vocal in demanding their state’s lawmakers and regulators take real action to implement mandatory restrictions on manure and commercial fertilizer use that ends up in our waters.
It’s time to cut the manure and take action!
Reprinted from Soundings Trade Only
A version of this article also appeared in the Summer Issue (July/August) 2021 of Great Lakes Scuttlebutt magazine.
tags: Environmental Impact, Fishing, Lake Erie, Law & Politics
