Lake Erie’s algae less severe this summer than past years
TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — Government scientists say the algae bloom on Lake Erie this past summer was one of the mildest ones in recent years.
The only bloom less severe over the past nine years came in 2012.
Researchers expected a smaller bloom than those of recent years after a relatively dry spring and early summer.
Less rainfall means there’s less phosphorus from farms and sewage treatment plants washing into the lake and feeding the algae.
The bloom that spread across the lake last summer was the largest on record and the one in 2014 fouled tap water for two days in Toledo and part of southeastern Michigan.