One of the five Great Lakes at the heart of North America is smothering under green algae blooms, often thousands of square kilometres in size. Because the lakes border on Canada and the United States they are managed by an International Joint Commission. On Thursday it will issue a report recommending immediate steps to save Lake Erie.
Lake Erie recovery now reversed
The lake was choked with algae in the past but a ban on phosphorus in laundry detergent in the mid-1960s reduced the blooms and the lake recovered. But in 2011, a 5,000-square-kilometre bloom prompted the commission to launch a study.
It found phosphorus is getting back into Lake Erie from fertilizers used to grow corn for ethanol and other crops. Another source is fertilizers used by individual to make their lawns look nice.
Declare Lake Erie ‘impaired’
The report recommends the lake be declared “impaired,” which will trigger action by both the U.S. and Canadian governments. It also wants both countries to ban the use of fertilizers on frozen fields and increase the amount of protected wetlands that serve as a natural filter blocking phosphorus from entering the lakes.
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