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Algae Bloom Covers 700 Square Miles Of Lake Erie

NPR
Published October 5, 2017 at 10:52 AM PDT
In this Aug. 3, 2014 file photo, the City of Toledo water intake crib is surrounded by algae in Lake Erie, off the shore of Curtice, Ohio. (Haraz N. Ghanbari/AP)
In this Aug. 3, 2014 file photo, the City of Toledo water intake crib is surrounded by algae in Lake Erie, off the shore of Curtice, Ohio. (Haraz N. Ghanbari/AP)

An algae bloom in Lake Erie’s western basin, bordering Michigan and Ohio, is turning portions of the lake bright green. Algae blooms have been getting larger and more frequent in the lake, and in 2014 one affected Toledo, Ohio’s water supply.

Here & Now‘s Jeremy Hobson talks with Timothy Davis (@PlanktonScience), associate professor of biology at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, about what causes the blooms and how they might be prevented.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.