Short Term Good News, but Long Term Problem Still Exists
Short Term Good News, but Long Term Problem Still Exists | JC Post The Kansas Department of Health and Environment will implement a newprogram for assessing the impact of blue green algae at Milford Lake.
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In the short term it means more relaxed restrictions on blue green algae cellcounts before usage of the lake for direct water recreation such as swimmingand jet skiing are restricted, but a solution to the overall problem is stillelusive. That problem has resulted in numerous closures, warnings, andadvisories at the lake in recent years…particularly 2011 and 2014. That led toa reduction in recreation usage and a negative impact in the lake area.
Now KDHE will implement a three phase program where watches, warnings, andfinally recommended beach or lake closures could be implemented. The cell countwill increase from 20,000 under and advisory in the past to 80,000 for a watchin the future. Tom Stiles with KDHE said it raises the level before any sense ofalarm is triggered relative to the blue green algae. “We had always gone withwhat the world ( WHO ) guidelines were, but we found that in Kansas thosenumbers don’t play exactly the way they do from the world’s perspective, and sowe had the latitude to raise those cell count numbers without compromisingpublic health whatsoever. ”
A warning will now go from 100,000 up to a 250,000 cell count, and there willbe a third more severe level…recommended beach or lake closure. MilfordReservoir will also be divided into three zones, meaning a portion of the lakecould be under a watch or warning but not the remainder of the reservoir.
Signage will be posted and you will be able to check the KDHE website forinformation on watches, but there will not be any news releases to the media atthat stage. The media will be notified when the cell counts reach warninglevels.
The flow of phosphorus and nitrogen into the lake from the Republican Riverbasin is a cause of blue green algae. There is also a belief at the state levelthat high water levels in the lake can be a problem in fostering algae blooms,however the main purpose for the reservoir operated by the Corps of Engineersis flood control, not recreation. Stiles said, “With Milford it just seemsunique in holding onto that high water into the summer time may be a recipe forstarting to let those blooms proliferate. “In addition the presence of zebramussels in Milford Lake has led to clear water apparently allowing theincreased development of blue green algae because sunlight can penetrate deeperinto the water.
The long term challenge is to fix the root cause, something which will bechallenging to control due to the inflow of phosphorus and nitrogen from theheavy agricultural Republican River watershed area into the lake. Plans fordealing with it listed by KDHE include possibly reducing non-point sources.
–Reduce sediment load with voluntary incentive programs
–Crop and livestock best management practices to reduce nutrient loading.
And effort to educe point source loads where phosphorus is put out. That couldinclude reducing opportunities or nutrients from mechanized wastewater plantsin some communities upstream on the Republican River through upgrades intreatment, and from lagoons in smaller towns.
A packed meeting room at the Milford City Building listened to the informationprovided by KDHE and the Corps of Engineers Thursday. Brad Roether, MilfordMayor, understood the short term improvements, but looked at the biggerpicture. “Basically you heard in there, if we get high water w’re really goingto be in a bad situation. And then learning that they wouldn’t let that waterdownstream if we have the blue green algae, that’s going to be a worse problemfor us.”
