Avon Lake Regional Water Begins Algal Bloom Preparations

As the weather gets warmer and we move into the summer months, the threat of possible algal blooms arises. However, Avon Lake residents can rest assured that Avon Lake Regional Water is prepared for any possible issues.

“Each year, the crew at Avon Lake Regional Water stands ready for a possible algal bloom,” said Todd Danielson, Chief Utilities Executive for Avon Lake Regional Water.

According the U.S. EPA, an algal bloom is “an overgrowth of algae.”[1] The colors of algal blooms range from green to blue or brown to red. Besides naturally occurring, algal blooms can occur from increased nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus, in the water.

The impact of these blooms is not only potentially harmful to your health, but also your wallet due to higher costs for treating your water. To ensure our drinking water is safe from algal blooms, Avon Lake Regional Water performs the following proactive measures each year:

Continuous testing of the water drawn into the water treatment plant;
Monitoring local and regional weather patterns;
Adding additional powdered activated carbon when conditions are present for a bloom; and
Communication on conditions with other facilities across Lake Erie.

The Avon Lake Board of Municipal Utilities (the Board) supports additional proactive measures, such as partnering with Great Lakes Biomimicry and the University of Akron to sponsor two University of Akron Ph.D. fellows studying biomimicry. According to Great Lakes Biomimicry, “biomimicry is the practice of learning from nature and emulating its forms, processes, and systems to solve human problems and drive innovation.”[2] If we are able to predict when an algal bloom will occur, Avon Lake Regional Water will be able to implement measures to prevent the impact to our water supply and save customers by not having an unneeded increases to treatment costs.

“As part of its commitment to Water Utility Leadership, Avon Lake Regional Water is sponsoring original research into the complex bio-dynamics of algal blooms in large water bodies. This forward-looking initiative will help Avon Lake Regional Water and similarly-situated water producers to detect potential algal problems earlier and respond more effectively and quicker than conventional methods,” said John Dzwonczyk, Chairman of the Board.

If you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact Avon Lake Regional Water at (440) 933-6226.

[1] U.S. EPA, Harmful Algal Blooms, http://www.epa.gov/nutrientpollution/harmful-algal-blooms.

[2] [2] Great Lakes Biomimicry, What is Biomimicry?, https://glbiomimicry.org/About/.