WP4 Rough Draft
Mark Robinson
Professor Zen Dochterman
Writ 150
22 November 2021
Reducing Toxic Algae Blooms in Lacamas Lake
80 degree weather and partly cloudy, it is the perfect day to play in the water. This is the typical weather that residents of Southern Washington experience on the daily over the summer. People flock to the nearest lakes and rivers to escape from the heat to have a relaxing day. In one small town called Camas Washington, one of these lakes is called Lacamas Lake. Lacamas Lake is the center of Camas during the summer, almost the whole town goes there to boat, wakeboard, swim, rent kayaks and go flying off of rope swings. It is the main source of attraction people look forward to in the summer. One year I remember going there for a whole straight week and just enjoying my time without worrisome from any of my life’s duties. It is one of my fondest memories of my childhood. Unfortunately, this fever dream can not be experienced by me anymore, nor any of the other resident’s of Camas Washington. Recently, in 2019 toxic algae blooms have invaded Lacamas Lake rendering it useless. Countless signs surround the lake warning people to stay away from danger. These toxic algae blooms are extremely harmful to humans as they can cause liver damage and poison people and they can be deadly to animals. One of my friends actually walked his dog around the lake on a trail one day during the algae blooms and unfortunately his dog drank some of the lake water and passed away a couple days later. As you can see these toxic algae blooms cause quite a problem for the community of Camas so it is in the best interest of the town and its residents to fix this problem. But this problem not only affects Camas, toxic algae blooms occur everywhere worldwide it is a global problem. Some argue that simply cleaning up the algae from these lakes is enough, I argue that to tackle the problem of algae blooms in Camas and globally, we must implement sustainable practices that reduce nitrogen and phosphorus runoff.
In order to understand how to tackle the root problem of these algae blooms it is necessary to know how the whole system of the lake and where it receives its nutrients and water. The area around Lacamas Lake is what is known as a watershed. The watershed is a 67 square mile area where all the water in this area feeds into the same area, being the lake (Moyer). The way this works is that water, when it rains accumulates into the ground and into small creeks and streams. These small creeks and streams run downhill and feed into larger rivers and finally these rivers feed into the lake which is at the lowest point of the watershed. It is quite simple, gravity pulls all the water to the lowest point which is the lake. As a result of this, the lake then accumulates all the same nutrients that the water picked up within this huge area, which can lead to problems. There are many nutrients and toxins that the water can pickup that are harmful, but for this case we will only focus on nitrogen and phosphorus runoff because it is what these algae feed off of.
Nitrogen and phosphorus are important nutrients that are needed in aquatic ecosystems so that plants can thrive and act as food sources for marine life. Nitrogen is necessary for protein synthesis, and phosphorus for DNA and RNA transfer (Conley Et al. 1014). But, excess of these two nutrients can create the perfect setting for algae to grow. This is because in most circumstances there is not enough nutrients for algae to grow as the other aquatic life consumes it, but once there is too much then it can grow at an uncontrollable rate. Once algae starts growing, it creates a feedback loop for more algae to grow as algae loves warm water and when the bacteria grows, they expand and become thicker thus absorbing more sunlight leading to warmer water (Denchak and Sturm). Additionally, algae likes to feed off of carbon dioxide in the air, which has been exacerbated by global warming, and when they die they decompose and relase carbon again into the water which provides fuel for even more cyanobacteria to grow. As you can see these algae blooms can be a pain to deal with once they have begun and they are almost unstoppable. So how can we stop them? We must stop the source of excess nitrogen and phosphorus so that these algae blooms can’t keep reproducing.
So where exactly are all the excess nutrients coming from? As you probably already realize it comes from the watershed, but where specifically? In the watershed, 35% of the land is forested, 20% is owned by the public, 25% is used for agricultural purposes and 16% of the land is developed for residential use while the rest is under private ownership (Moyer). The two main sources of nitrogen and phosphorus are from the agricultural land and the residential area. For this reasoning, it is important to tackle both of these areas with their own specific solutions instead of just one or the other or both with a broad solution.
A solution that the resident’s of camas have already began to undertake is simply picking up the algae from the lake and moving it elsewhere. Although this solution does offer relief, it is very short term and has little to no effect in the long run where algae will continue to regrow. Rather what the residents of Camas Washington need to do is reduce the amount of nutrient runoff. One source of nutrient runoff is the biofilter by the lake that is supposed to take nutrient rich runoff and decrease its levels. Unfortunately, the biofilter has had the opposite effect and has actually increased runoff. Phosphorus levels have been measured to enter the bio filter at 145 micrograms per liter and leave at 976 micrograms per liter (Ley). It is quite obvious that this biofilter is making the condition of nutrient runoff worse. With this in mind, the first thing that the residents of camas Washington need to do is fix this biofilter. This can be done by removing all the overgrown brush and putting in new plants that are healthy. Once the biofilter is cleaned it should reduce the total amounts of phosphorus entering the lake, thus reducing algae growth. But, fixing the biofilter willl still not solve the root cause of the problem.
What I mean by this, is that in 2007 phosphorus was only measured at 30 to 50 micrograms per liter, and in just 14 years these phosphorous levels have almost quadrupled. What this means is that residents are using more and more compounds that contains phosphorous, whether in the form of phosphates in detergent, fertilizer for their lawn or more. This is a direct effect of globalization as people’s access to these items is becoming easier as the world becomes more and more connected. Unfortunately, there is not much the city of Camas can do about these products, since they have no ability to ban them, and even if they did in stores people coule readily access them through online markets which are a byproduct of globalization. So, then what can be done? It is quite simple, consumers must be aware of what they are buying and using and how it effects their environment. This can be done by buying phosphate free detergents and shampoo, not using fertilizer and more. Most research regarding the solution to reducing urban runoff involves some soft of biofilter, but since there is already one in place and I suggested fixing it, conscious consumerism is really the only solution to prevent algae growth and more importantly to protect our environment. Regarding agricultural runoff, there are physical measures that can be put in place to reduce nutrient runoff.
While it is true that these farms in the Lacamas Lake Watershed could reduce their fertilizer and herbicide use just as residential consumers could, they most likely wouldn’t unless there is an incentive. This could be done through tax cuts on farms that use less fertilizer or subsidies for fertilizeres that contain less nutrients. But, would either of these solutions really work? It would most likely piss of farmers as they would not see a reasoning behind this change. Rather, a better solution would be to enforce cover crops. Cover crops are a type of crop that are meant to prevent leeching, runoff and erosion all of which contribute to algae growth. In a study, it showed that cover crops “On average, CCs can reduce runoff by 50% relative to fields without CCs” (Blanco-Canqui 1634). What this means is that there is less nutrient runoff as simply there is less water to carry the nutrients away. This not only is beneficial in reducing nutrient runoff, it also benefits farmers as less nutrients running off means more nutrients retained in the soil so they don’t have to use as much fertilizer. Cover crops not only help with runoff though, they can also help with the problem of nitrogen. It was reported that cover crops reduce nitrate leeching by “18 to 95% with an average of 53%” (1635). A reduction in runoff of nitrogen from farms in addition to decreased phosphorus levels from residential areas would go a long ways in combatting algae growth in Lacamas Lake. But, this is not a problem-free solution, the ability of cover crops to be effective is largely dependent on biomass. With this in mind, these farmers should specifically use a Hairy vetch-cereal rye mixture, because it can produce “63 and 21% more biomass compared with Hairy Vetch and cereal rye monocultures, respectively” both of which are some of the best cover crops. As a result of having more biomass by using this mixture, maximum prevention of nitrogen runoff will occur.
The problem with algae blooms is not only a problem in Camas Washington. It is a global problem that is becoming more and more widespread as global warming leads to warmer waters promoting algae growth. But, we can take our example of Lacamas Lake to shed light on the bigger problem surrounding algae and nutrient runoff. In the case of Camas Washington the problem with algae is not nearly as grand as algae growth elsewhere. In Washington the main problem with the algae growth is that it inhibited recreational use. The thing is with most algae growth elsewhere the problem is even more pressing, it can have drastic effects on thousands of people if the water is used for drinking and it can destroy ecosystems as algae creates hypoxic zones where fish and aquatic life can’t breathe. For example, in 2014 there was algae in Lake Erie, and a “do not drink” order had to be put in place since it contaminated the whole water which effected more than 500,000 people and resulted in more than 100 being sick (Denchak and Sturm). The solutions I suggested, such as a biofilter and implementation of cover crops are effective at reducing runoff, but to what extent can they be applied? What I mean by this is tremendously large bodies of water such as the great lakes, the gulf of mexico, the baltic sea, the coral reefs and various other bodies of water are plagued by algae. Would it really be possible to run all the water through a biofilter first before it enters into Lake Erie? Practically no, and you wouldn’t be able to do this with the Great Coral Reefs, or any other large body of water. Realistically, the only thing that can be done is for farmers and people alike to reduce their footprint on their world by being more conscious of what products they use. It is best to start now, we saw in Camas Washington how such a small algae bloom can pose such a big problem and require a lot of effort. How will we ever combat the algal blooms of Southern Florida or the Coral Reefs if they are at 100x the scale.
Works Cited
Blanco‐Canqui, Humberto. “Cover Crops and Water Quality.” Agronomy Journal, vol. 110, no. 5, 2018, pp. 1633–1647., https://doi.org/10.2134/agronj2018.02.0077. Accessed 22 November 2021.
Conley, Daniel J., et al. “Controlling Eutrophication: Nitrogen and Phosphorus.” Science, vol. 323, no. 5917, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2009, pp. 1014–15, http://www.jstor.org/stable/20403108. Accessed 22 November 2021.
Denchak, Melissa, and Melanie Sturm. Freshwater Harmful Algal Blooms 101.” NRDC, 24 Sept. 2020, https://www.nrdc.org/stories/freshwater-harmful-algal-blooms-101. Accessed 22 November 2021.
Ley, John. “Lacamas and Round Lake Toxic Algae Warning Issued.” ClarkCountyToday.com, 14 Aug. 2021, https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/news/lacamas-and-round-lake-toxic-algae-warning-issued/. Accessed 22 November 2021.
Moyer, Kelly. “‘There Is Concern All Three Lakes Will Continue to Degrade’.” Camas, Camas-Washougal Post-Record, 22 Apr. 2021, https://www.camaspostrecord.com/news/2021/apr/22/there-is-concern-all-three-lakes-will-continue-to-degrade/. Accessed 22 November 2021.
Thapa, Resham, et al. “Biomass Production and Nitrogen Accumulation by Hairy Vetch–Cereal Rye Mixtures: A Meta‐Analysis.” Agronomy Journal, vol. 110, no. 4, 2018, pp. 1197–1208., https://doi.org/10.2134/agronj2017.09.0544. Accessed 22 November 2021.
