Chemistry Corner

Freshwater Harmful Algal Bloom (HABs) of The Pacific Northwest

By Sarra Soladey

About HABs

Everywhere in the world, harmful algal blooms (HABs) have been increasing in occurrence and in the extent of stay. Both in marine waters and freshwaters the two types of HABs, toxin producers and high mass producers, are wreaking havoc on ecosystems, both in and out of the water. In the Pacific Northwest we deal with types of toxin producing HABs called cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae. Cyanobacteria releases toxins, promptly called cyanotoxins, which can affect liver, kidneys and the nervous system causing illness or even death. Factors that have helped caused this increase can be chalked up to climate change and increasing agricultural pollution. HABs when there is an abundance of nitrogen and phosphorus in the water which can come from farm water run off because farming materials like fertilizer and pesticides contain these. Other factors that HABs like are warmer water temperatures, which unfortunately for us is a common side effect of the increase of greenhouse gasses.

Focus Area

For my study into what types of cyanobacteria grow in the Pacific Northwest I focused on Washington, Clackamas, and Multnomah Counties in Oregon. The following waterbodies are only a few that are affected in Oregon. Cyanobacteria have and will cause death or illness in pets and livestock, so be aware of what your dog may drink out on a walk. Many states are now testing waterbodies for levels of toxins in the water and will put advisories when they exceed a harmful limit. Here is the site for current advisories in Oregon, https://www.oregon.gov/oha/PH/HEALTHYENVIRONMENTS/RECREATION/HARMFULALGAEBLOOMS/Pages/Blue-GreenAlgaeAdvisories.aspx

Focus Area Map

Focus Area Table

Waterbody	County	Main Cyanobacteria
Blue Lake	Multnomah	Microcystic Aeruginosa
Fairview Lake	Multnomah	Anabaena sp.
Lake Oswego	Clackamas	Microcystic Aeruginosa
Laurelhurst Pond (Firwood Lake)	Multnomah	Microcystic Aeruginosa
North Fork Reservoir	Clackamas	Anabaena Planktonic
Timothy Lake	Clackamas	Anabaena sp.
Tualatin River	Washington	Anabaena Flos-aquae
Wapato Lake	Washington	Anabaena Flos-aquae

(to learn more about the bacteria and the cyanotoxin they produce click the link)

Microcystic

Anabaena

Click here

to read about general signs if a HABs Bloom is in your area. It is important to note that not all algal blooms are dangerous but the difference between the two maybe hard to tell. Be safe out there!

Sources:

DOST PNRI. Harmful Algal Blooms (HAB) [Video File]. Youtube, March 29, 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=706kZXlHZRw

Reactions. What Makes Blue-Green Algae Dangerous? – Speaking of Chemistry [Video File]. Youtube, June 2, 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNL99XVJjQo

Oregon Health Authority. Cyanobacteria Advisory Archive. https://www.oregon.gov/oha/PH/HEALTHYENVIRONMENTS/RECREATION/HARMFULALGAEBLOOMS/Pages/archive.aspx#table

Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. Harmful Algae Bloom (HAB) Strategy. https://www.oregon.gov/deq/wq/Pages/Harmful-Algal-Blooms.aspx

United States Geological Survey. Upstream Factors Affecting Tualatin River Algae – Tracking the 2008 Anabaena Algae Bloom to Wapato Lake, Oregon. https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2015/5178/sir20155178.pdf