Austin is starting its final attack against harmful algae blooms that killed several dogs in Lady Bird Lake. This is the final year of a five-year pilot program targeting Cyanobacteria or blue-green algae that can be fatal to dogs and make people sick.
Six years ago, Lady Bird Lake was a mess. In 2019, a number of dogs died after swimming in Lady Bird Lake, and then another dog died in 2021. That is when a 5-year pilot program started to make the lake safer for people and pets.
The thick mats of blue-green algae thrive during the hot summer. To get rid of them, the City of Austin has spent $300,000 each year to spray a modified clay product on the water that robs the algae of phosphorus and reduces its growth.
ALSO| Austin braces for multiple storms with severe risks
“The hope is that you can push the system back to what it was before the toxigenic algae were present,” said Brent Bellinger, Conservation Program Supervisor with the City of Austin Watershed Protection Department.
So far, the results have been mixed. At Red Bud Isle, there have been significant reductions in the amount of phosphorus that’s available to feed algae growth. Downriver, the changes in phosphorus levels are smaller.
“We’ve been collecting a lot of data out here, water quality, sediment quality. We’ve continued to monitor the bacteria, toxicity, and the toxins present. We’ll put all of this together and look at it and try to make some determinations about the overall efficacy of the product and the treatment. We’ll weigh that against the cost, and then we’ll look at other strategies,” said Bellinger.
This is the last year of the pilot program. There will be three applications of the product, with the first one starting Monday afternoon and continuing on Tuesday. The other two will be in July and August. After that, city officials must decide the next course of action to deal with the toxic algae problem.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
