FIVE PROACTIVE STRATEGIES F HARMFUL ALGAE GROWTH

A little fact… Cyanobacteria can grow and spread in nearly any body of water but are especially adept at multiplying in slow-moving and calmer waters, expanding significantly as a result of static water environments.

So what about freshwater? In freshwater lakes, ponds, and reservoirs, harmful algae blooms (HABs) are most often the result of cyanobacteria, most commonly known as blue-green algae. Most of these types of algae are naturally heavier than water but have built in buoyancy that allows them to come to the surface for sunlight. This buoyancy regulation keeps them at the same density as water, so small changes allow them to sink to the bottom for nutrients at night and also come to the surface early in the day for sunlight. As they cover the surface, they shade out the sunlight for other types of algae and plants below causing them to die. The dying biomass is consumed by bacteria causing a host of other issues such as depleting oxygen levels (bad for fish) as well as producing foul smells. As they die, they release nutrients like phosphate that in turn feed the cyanobacteria bloom making it grow even faster. Cyanobacteria are much older as a species and share many of the same attributes as algae such as the ability to photosynthesize. Thanks to their waste product, oxygen, we can breathe.

The threat of cyanobacteria has been increasing for years and with the rise in temperatures is becoming more of a problem. They are destructive and harm aquatic ecosystems, people, animals, drinking water supplies, the economy, recreational activities and everything we hold dear. In fact, it’s a worsening worldwide problem that requires immediate attention.

Before getting into the solutions, it is necessary to describe the primary cause of cyanoHABs or harmful blooms of cyanobacteria. These dangerous algae can bloom with extremely small amounts of phosphate pollution that gets into a water body. Phosphates typically come from farm fertilizer runoff, over fertilization of lawns, phosphate-based cleaning soaps and surfactants. Overuse of algaecides (particularly the longterm use of copper sulphate) can eliminate useful beneficial bacteria in the sediment which can result in less phosphate consumed so more phosphate gets released. This is because the remaining bacteria unaffected by the copper sulphate are mostly anaerobic and they eventually cause the algae problem to spiral out of control by continuing to recycle phosphates back into the water column. This then fuels cyanobacteria, creating complex hydrocarbons that are poisonous to many organisms, including animals and humans.

Strategies and solutions to shut down harmful algae growth

Over the past decade, technologies have evolved to better manage cyanobacteria and other algae. While it can be a challenge to rank which products and approaches may be most relevant for a particular situation, the five proactive approaches below provide an overview of the solutions currently available to significantly lower the risk of a HAB and effectively manage the problem.

Ultrasound – Today’s ultrasonic algae control solutions are a technological leap beyond the first systems that came to market more than two decades ago. The latest systems transmit more than 2,000 frequencies to leave no stone unturned to target the most harmful cyanobacteria, so the effect is an order of magnitude greater compared to previous generation products. This makes the right ultrasonic algae mitigation platform an excellent preventative and active remedy to HABs. The most modern devices use critical structural resonance to achieve disabling both algae and cyanobacteria and avoid cavitation that can cause burns if touched by human skin.

It has been estimated that approximately 95% of the 70,000 species and two million sub-species of algae can be efficiently mitigated with ultrasound. This approach has been proven to be