A Global Scan of How the Issue of Nutrient Loading and Harmful Algal Blooms Is Being Addressed by Governments, Non-Governmental
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
1 © 2020 The Authors Water Quality Research Journal | 55.1 | 2020 A global scan of how the issue of nutrient loading and harmful algal blooms is being addressed by governments, non-governmental organizations, and volunteers Étienne Foulon, Alain N. Rousseau, Glenn Benoy and Rebecca L. North ABSTRACT Harmful algal blooms (HABs) in aquatic ecosystems are of concern worldwide. This review deals with Étienne Foulon (corresponding author) Alain N. Rousseau how jurisdictions around the world are addressing this water quality issue to inform recommendations INRS-ETE/Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique – Eau Terre Environnement, regarding nutrient loading and HABs in Missisquoi Bay-Lake Champlain and Lake Memphremagog; 490 rue de la Couronne, Québec City, transboundary lakes located in the USA and Canada that suffer from symptoms of eutrophication. Québec G1K 9A9, Canada A global scan of the literature resulted in the consideration of 12 case studies of large water bodies E-mail: [email protected] within large watersheds, excluding in-lake geoengineering approaches. Although all of the systems Glenn Benoy Canadian Rivers Institute, Faculty of Forestry and experience excessive nutrient loading, they vary in two key ways: sources of nutrients and Environmental Management, manifestations of eutrophication ranging from HABs, to limited recreational uses, to the additional University of New Brunswick, P.O. Box 4400, 28 Dineen Drive, Fredericton, complexity of internal loadings and fish kills, up to drinking water shutdowns. The case studies were NB E3B 5A3, Canada analyzed with respect to four categories of approaches, namely: (i) regulatory; (ii) incentive-based; Rebecca L. North (iii) risk mitigation; and (iv) outreach, engagement, and educational. We found that the management School of Natural Resources, frameworks are based on integrated watershed management planning and national standards. University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, National water quality standards, however, are not stringent enough to prevent HABs. Overall, USA identified case studies did not successfully remediate HABs, they simply managed them. Key words | approach, incentive, regulatory, rehabilitation, remediation, risk mitigation INTRODUCTION Algal blooms can happen in water bodies when there is an may also originate from human-induced activities, such as overabundance of nutrients (phosphorus – P, and nitrogen agriculture (mostly from surface and subsurface water move- – N) and/or conducive environmental conditions (high ment from fertilized soils and faulty manure storage), water temperatures, intermittent high light intensities, industrial and municipal wastewater treatment plants, stable conditions – usually; Watson et al. ). Blooms are leaky home septic systems, run-off from lawns, and even a naturally occurring phenomenon resulting from the gra- atmospheric depositions. Hence, humans have exacerbated dual accumulation of nutrients and organic matter from the natural frequency, extent, location, and potential toxicity watersheds associated with sufficient light for photosyn- of algal blooms. Toxic algal blooms, referred to as harmful thesis (Anderson et al. ). Excess nutrients, however, algal blooms (HABs), are of particular relevance to humans because of their risks to public health. HABs This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative occur in freshwater systems often as a result of cyanobac- Commons Attribution Licence (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which permits copying teria such as Microcystis. Red tides or brownish blooms and redistribution for non-commercial purposes with no derivatives, provided the original work is properly cited (http://creativecommons.org/ occur in brackish waters often as a result of harmful phyto- licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). plankton such as dinoflagellates of the genera Alexandrium doi: 10.2166/wqrj.2019.013 Downloaded from http://iwaponline.com/wqrj/article-pdf/55/1/1/709261/wqrjc0550001.pdf by UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI COLUMBIA user on 10 September 2020 2 É. Foulon et al. | How are harmful algal blooms addressed? Water Quality Research Journal | 55.1 | 2020 and Karenia. HABs can produce dangerous toxins that may the development of society and economy. In past decades, sicken or kill people and animals, create dead zones in the algal blooms have been observed in Lake Chao (Yang water (depleted in oxygen), raise treatment costs for drink- et al. ; Jiang et al. ), Lake Dianchi, and Lake ing water (or provoke shutdowns), and impact industries Taihu (Huang et al. ; Qin et al. ). The rapidly accel- that depend on clean water (EPA a). erating pace of eutrophication in lakes across China has HABs are a worldwide issue. In the USA, all 50 states forced the government to set ambitious lake restoration are impacted by either or both cyanobacterial and/or goals (Qin et al. ). golden HABs (formed from single-cell Prymnesium The watersheds of Lake Memphremagog and Lake parvum that may cause fish kills when blooming). The Champlain span two countries (Canada and the USA), United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) one province (Québec), and two states (Vermont and estimates that HABs and eutrophication cost the U.S. econ- New York). Due to excessive nutrient loading, sections of omy 2.2–4.6 billion dollars a year (Hudnell ). They are Lake Champlain and Lake Memphremagog have been responsible for the state of emergency declared in Florida experiencing symptoms of eutrophication for many years. in 2016 and for the half a million Ohioans left without In particular, the binational northeastern portion of Lake drinking water for a week in 2014. In Canada, algal Champlain, Missisquoi Bay suffers from severe HABs on a blooms are not uncommon, but tracking them across over regular basis. The most significant development regarding a million lakes and countless water bodies is tricky. nutrient loading and HABs in Lake Champlain and Lake Although the issue may not be so new (Reynolds & Memphremagog has been the approval of phosphorus Walsby ), ‘the rise of slime’ (Jackson ) is more Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) by the US EPA in often associated with HABs. All large inland water bodies 2016 and 2017, respectively, for the Vermont portion of that form an arc across Canada on the edge of the Canadian the lakes. Despite these past efforts, the lakes continue to Shield, Lake Champlain, Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, Lake of experience degraded water quality and frequent and severe the Woods, and Lake Winnipeg, experience big blooms. HABs. Consequently, the governments of Canada and the Smaller blooms arise in all Canadian provinces. In United States issued a reference to the International Joint Quebec, between 2004 and 2010, the number of reported Commission (IJC) in 2017 to make recommendations on visible blooms increased from 24 to 150 (Pick ). Report- how best to strengthen existing activities being undertaken ing programs, phosphorus management strategies, as well as by the province of Quebec and the states of Vermont and human exposure guidelines for some algal toxins, continue New York. This review informs the development of rec- to be developed and released in an increasing number of jur- ommendations that are meant to restore and protect these isdictions (Pick ). In Europe, eutrophication, mostly transboundary lakes, but it is also applicable to other lakes linked to nitrates, is also widespread and even warrants a in North America and around the world that suffer from 369 multi-lake survey of cyanotoxins [e.g., 137 lakes sampled HABs. It summarizes and builds upon case studies of nutri- by Mantzouki et al. ()] requiring coordinating research- ent loads and HABs management in six countries – ers from 27 different countries. In China, an increasing Australia, Canada, China, France, Switzerland, and the number of HAB events have been recorded in the last two USA – and 12 different jurisdictions around the world decades in coastal waters (Yu et al. ). Since 2000, before presenting key findings to inform potential HABs large-scale HABs appeared, such as dinoflagellates and management strategies for Lake Memphremagog and Lake haptophyte red tides in the East and South China Seas, Champlain. Case studies were selected to include a variety respectively, and pelagophyte brown tides in the Bohai of jurisdictional contexts, geographical and social settings Sea. These emerging blooms have, since the 1970s, that would enable some generalizing about the frameworks, become more diversified and shifted from diatoms to harm- approaches, and processes implemented by government ful flagellates (Yu et al. ). Eutrophication of most inland agencies and departments, academic institutions, and non- lakes and reservoirs in China also threatens the regional governmental organizations to tackle nutrient loading and ecological environment and water security. It has restricted HABs. Downloaded from http://iwaponline.com/wqrj/article-pdf/55/1/1/709261/wqrjc0550001.pdf by UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI COLUMBIA user on 10 September 2020 3 É. Foulon et al. | How are harmful algal blooms addressed? Water Quality Research Journal | 55.1 | 2020 The next three sections of this paper introduce: (i) the regulations in Canada and in the USA are historically specific methodology underlying this review including how rooted in water quality standards established quite some the case studies were analyzed with respect to four cat- time ago to curb point sources of pollution, we discarded egories of implemented approaches, (ii) results pertaining any material that