ENGINEER RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CENTER
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) researchers will use this 25-acre test site in Defiance, Ohio, to find solutions to non-point source pollution in the Great Lakes Basin. U.S. ARMY PHOTO BY JASON SCOTT
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USACE Researchers Looking for Solutions to Great Lakes Water Quality Issues The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Buffalo District are collaborating with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and other federal and state agencies to find solutions to water quality issues in the Great Lakes.
he Great Lakes has a nutrient problem that is decreasing water quality,” said Jacob Berkowitz, Ph.D., research soil scientist in ERDC’s Environmental Laboratory. “Harmful algal blooms [HABs], which have been linked, in part, to excess phosphorous, are causing major issues.” According to the EPA, a collaborating agency on this project, “HABs are overgrowths of algae in water. Some produce dangerous toxins in fresh or marine water, but even non-toxic blooms hurt the environment and local economies.” HABs are caused by cyanobacteria — or blue-green algae, a nuisance species — and it impacts human health and safety, fish and wildlife, water supply, reservoir operations, and recreation. The city of Toledo, Ohio, was cut off from drinking water access for more than two days in 2014 due to a toxic HABs event in Lake Erie. There is an abundance of farmland around the Great Lakes, meaning there are fertilizers and other chemicals that are used on crops. These chemicals, including phosphorous, seep into groundwater and eventually wind up in the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) identified reduction of phosphorous loading in Great Lakes watersheds as a priority item to address degraded water quality at regional scales. “EPA is excited to collaborate with USACE and the USGS on this GLRI project — a project that has been several years in the making,” said Chris Korleski, director of EPA’s Great Lakes National Program Office. “This partnership allowed us to put an innovative idea into action, and as we monitor the site over the next five years, we will develop a better understanding of
BY JASON SCOTT
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