OHIO SEA GRANT AND STONE LABORATORY
OHIO SEA GRANT AND STONE LABORATORY
What’s Wrong with Lake Erie
and
How Can We Fix It
Dr. Jeffrey M. Reutter
Special Advisor, Ohio Sea Grant College Program
OHIO SEA GRANT AND STONE LABORATORY
Lake Erie has always been at
the forefront of the algae and
nutrient problem.
Why?
OHIO SEA GRANT AND STONE LABORATORY
Why Lake Erie? Southernmost
Image: Ohio Sea Grant OHIO SEA GRANT AND STONE LABORATORY
Shallowest and Warmest
OHIO SEA GRANT AND STONE LABORATORY
OHIO SEA
GRANT AND STONE LABORATORY
100 Major Land Uses in the Great Lakes 90 % Land Cover 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Superior urban Michigan Huron Erie agriculture forest grassland Modified from Lizhu Wang et al. 2015; GLR-00879
Ontario wetlands OHIO SEA GRANT AND STONE LABORATORY
Because of Land Use, Lake Erie Gets:
• More sediment
• More nutrients (fertilizers and sewage)
• (The above 2 items are exacerbated by storms,
which will be more frequent and severe due to
climate change.)
• And Lake Erie is still biologically the most
productive of the Great Lakes—And always
will be!!!
OHIO SEA GRANT AND STONE LABORATORY
June 22, 1969
Lake Erie wasn’t always the Walleye Capital of the World OHIO SEA GRANT AND STONE LABORATORY
Blue-green Algae Bloom 1971
Photo: Forsythe and ReuOer
OSU’s Island Campus OHIO SEA GRANT AND STONE LABORATORY
OHIO SEA GRANT AND STONE LABORATORY
Cyanobacteria “Preferences”
• Warm water—above 60F
• High concentrations of nutrients
• Particularly phosphorus (P)
• If nitrogen (N) is low, some cyanos are capable
of fixing their own from the air
• Source of nutrients doesn’t matter
• Preferences tell us where to expect Cyanos
anywhere in world
• Cyanos are capable of producing toxins
OHIO SEA GRANT AND STONE LABORATORY
Toxicity of Algal
Toxins Relative
to Other Toxic
Compounds
found in Water
•  Reference Dose =
amount that can be
ingested orally by a
person, above which
a toxic effect may
occur, on a milligram
per kilogram body
weight per day basis.
Toxin Reference Doses Dioxin (0.000001 mg/kg-­‐d) MicrocysZn LR (0.000003 mg/kg-­‐d) Saxitoxin (0.000005 mg/kg-­‐d) PCBs (0.00002 mg/kg-­‐d) Cylindrospermopsin (0.00003 mg/kg-­‐d) Methylmercury (0.0001 mg/kg-­‐d) Anatoxin-­‐A (0.0005 mg/kg-­‐d) DDT (0.0005 mg/kg-­‐d) Selenium (0.005 mg/kg-­‐d) Botulinum toxin A (0.001 mg/kg-­‐d) Alachlor (0.01 mg/kg-­‐d) Cyanide (0.02 mg/kg-­‐d) Atrazine (0.04 mg/kg-­‐d) Fluoride (0.06 mg/kg-­‐d) Chlorine (0.1 mg/kg-­‐d) Aluminum (1 mg/kg-­‐d) Ethylene Glycol (2 mg/kg-­‐d) OHIO SEA GRANT AND STONE LABORATORY
What brought about the rebirth
(dead lake to Walleye Capital)?
• Phosphorus reductions from point
sources (29,000 metric tons to 11,000).
• In those days 2/3 of phosphorus sewage
treatment
• Today, more than 2/3 is non-point source
loading from agriculture
OHIO SEA GRANT AND STONE LABORATORY
Why do we target phosphorus?
• Normally limiting nutrient in freshwater
systems
• P reduction is best strategy ecologically
and economically
• Reducing both P and N will help the most
OHIO SEA GRANT AND STONE LABORATORY
Nutrient Loading
• P discharges from sewage treatment plants vary li@le from year to year • P discharges from ag tributaries vary greatly from year to year depending on rainfall •  Vast majority of P loading occurs during storm events • Frequency of severe storms up 37-­‐53% Great Lakes Tributary Total Phosphorus Loads (MTA) 2008 OHIO SEA GRANT AND STONE LABORATORY
506
575 575
77
77
61
61
62
62
239
195
195
74
98 41
210
210
28
28
100
Legend 500 Total Phosphorus: > 100 MTA 100 ConnecZng Channel 29
240
240
24
Total Phosphorus: < 100 MTA
32
32
152
120
120
240
86
658
658
396
396 136
502
67
67
52
52
601
107
107
201
201
2016
241
241
132
132
121
121
156 81 475
475 22 59
59
22 137 45
45
80
35
80 3,812
3,812 41
83
41
2,040
2,040 61 279
279 64 57 1,105 235 264
264 49 37 41
41 37
28
28
452
452 179
179 366
59 32
32 105 79
79 206
206 202 189
189
637
124
124
58
69
34
34
42 28
28
26
90
90
269 43
43
40
28
28 57
57
137
325
OHIO SEA GRANT AND STONE LABORATORY
• Lake Erie • 9,906 sq. miles • 11th in area 17th volume • 241 miles long 57 wide • Western Basin • Ave. depth 24 \. • 13% area, 5% volume • Central Basin • Ave. depth 60 \. • 63% area and volume • Eastern Basin • Ave. 80 \., Max 210 \. • 24% area, 32% volume Lake Erie Stats
OHIO SEA GRANT AND STONE LABORATORY
Joe DePinto, LimnoTech OHIO SEA GRANT AND STONE LABORATORY
Not all P is created equal
• Total P (TP) = particulate P (PP) and dissolved reactive P
(DRP)
• PP is about 25% bioavailable
• DRP is 100% bioavailable
• Most BMPs have focused on PP (stopping erosion)
• New info for most farmers = DRP dissolves in rain and
comes out through drain tiles
• DRP concentration out of tiles is OK at 46 ppm P
• Animal operations can put on 150 ppm P
• P surface runoff too high without incorporation
• Winterkill cover crops can increase DRP runoff
• P from tile risers is a big problem
• Removing 1 ton of DRP = removing 4 tons of PP
• DRP loading up 150%!
OHIO SEA GRANT AND STONE LABORATORY
13 Years of Satellite Bloom Data OHIO SEA GRANT AND STONE LABORATORY
Microcystis, Stone Lab, 8/10/10
Photos: Jeff ReuOer OHIO SEA GRANT AND STONE LABORATORY
October 9, 2011 Photo: NOAA Satellite Image
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Microcystis, Stone Lab, 9/20/13
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High Water and HAB on Stone Lab Dock, 7/25/15
Photo Credit: Dr. Darren Bade 2015: Lake Erie’s most intense bloom OHIO SEA GRANT AND STONE LABORATORY
10.5!
New DPR model predicted this, as did one test version of the LimnoTech WLEEM models. Models will be examined more closely, and used OHIO SEA GRANT AND STONE LABORATORY
Goals
• Eliminate HABs
• Aid in reducing phosphorus loading to
eliminate HABs
• Produce Safe Drinking Water
• Help water treatment plant operators produce
safe drinking water.
• Protect boaters, swimmers, and visitors
• Help coastal businesses
OHIO SEA GRANT AND STONE LABORATORY
Agreement on Phosphorus Targets
• Ohio Phos Task Force—P Targets March 2013
(Chaired by Dr. Jeff Reutter)
• 40% reduction based on NOAA model (Rick Stumpf)
• Annual seasonal forecasts at Stone Lab since 2012
• Collaboration: NOAA, Heidelberg, OSU, U Toledo, U
Mich.
• International Joint Commission—P Targets Oct 2013
• Accepted Ohio P Task Force Recommendations
• Annex 4 P Targets, Great Lakes Water Quality
Agreement, US and Canada—May 2015 (Dr. Jeff
Reutter, US Chair)
• 9 models
• Addresses HABs, dead zone, & Cladophora
• We could not have set these targets without Rick
Stumpf’s model!!
OHIO SEA GRANT AND STONE LABORATORY
Targets to Solve Lake Erie Problems
(based on multiple models)
• HABs: 40% spring TP and DRP load reduction
• Maumee Load: 860 TP and 186 DRP
• Maumee FWMC: TP = 0.23 mg/l, DRP = 0.05
mg/l
• Dead Zone: 40% annual TP load reduction
• Cladophora: Not enough information to set
target
OHIO SEA GRANT AND STONE LABORATORY
OHIO SEA
GRANT AND STONE LABORATORY
-  Ann. discharge = 8.0 billion m3
-  Spring discharge = 3.4 billion m3
-  Ann. P load = 3,800 tonnes
-  Spring P load = 1,400 tonnes
-  Ann. discharge = 6.2 billion m3
-  Spring discharge = 5.0 billion m3
-  Ann. P load = 3,100 tonnes
-  Spring P load = 2,300 tonnes
-  Ann. discharge = 6.1 billion m3
-  Spring discharge = 1.0 billion m3
-  Ann. P load = 2,500 tonnes
-  Spring P load = 400 tonnes
OHIO SEA GRANT AND STONE LABORATORY
Ohio Sea Grant and HABs
• Since 1990: 62 research projects
• Currently coordinating 23 projects for Ohio
Dept of Higher Education and OSU and
seeking proposals for more projects
• All of the research projects are available to
review on our website:
www.ohioseagrant.osu.edu
• Renovated Stone Lab water quality lab
• Currently doing water testing for 5-7 coastal
communities and emergency tests for OEPA
OHIO SEA GRANT AND STONE LABORATORY
Sea Grant Outreach Activities
• 30,000 visitors annually to Ohio Sea Grant’s Stone Lab
• Hosting NOAA HAB Forecast annually since 2012
• Media Coverage
• Over 400 articles in different publications/venues in
2012 & 2013 and over 500 in 2014
• Sea Grant Annual Workshops at Stone Lab for water
treatment plant operators (initiated in 2010) and Rick
Stumpf added to teaching team in 2011.
• 200+ Field trips, conferences and workshops annually
• Twine Line Articles
• Personal speaking engagements
• Over 50 in 2013 and 75 in 2014
OHIO SEA GRANT AND STONE LABORATORY
Workshops
• Algal iden`fica`on • NOAA Science Literacy • Dealing with Cyanobacteria, Algal Toxins and Taste and Odor Compounds • Outdoor Photography • Lake Erie Sport Fishing • Fish-­‐Sampling Techniques OHIO SEA GRANT AND STONE LABORATORY
Ohio HAB Related
Human Illnesses and Animal Deaths
• 2010:
• 2011:
• 2012:
• 2013:
• 2014:
• 2015:
49 human illnesses, 12 animal deaths
3 human illnesses, 2 animal deaths
0
0
0
1 human illness
OHIO SEA GRANT AND STONE LABORATORY
HAB Impacts
• Toledo Water Crisis of 2014
• Tourism: $40+ billion industry in Ohio’s 88
counties
• 8 counties that boarder Lake Erie: $12.9 billion
and 119,500 jobs
• Charter captains: 20-25% reduction in business
• Head boat customers down 17-25%
OHIO SEA GRANT AND STONE LABORATORY
Ideas for Cities and Individuals
• Sewage treatment plants—GLWQA target 0.5 mg/l of P
• Reduce CSO’s
• Stormwater management
• Reduce consumption and runoff—Low-flow toilets
and shower heads, rain barrels and rain gardens
• No P in lawn fertilizers
• Septic tanks
• Cleaners and detergents—Low P and use
recommended amount
• Climate change—Warmer and more frequent storms
• Solar panels, solar thermal, reduce power consumption
OHIO SEA GRANT AND STONE LABORATORY
How Can You Help?
• Support and help develop policies to reach
target reductions
• Help society evaluate and understand policies
• Should we be using 35-40% of corn for ethanol?
• How relevant is feeding 9 billion people in 2050 vs
stopping excessive nutrient loading now?
• Can voluntary approaches work?
• Role of climate change on this issue
OHIO SEA GRANT AND STONE LABORATORY
For more information:
Dr. Jeff Reutter, Special Advisor
Ohio Sea Grant and
Stone Lab
Ohio State Univ.
1314 Kinnear Rd.
Col, OH 43212
614-292-8949
Reutter.1@osu.edu
ohioseagrant.osu.edu
Stone Laboratory
Ohio State Univ.
Box 119
Put-in-Bay, OH
43456
614-247-6500