Algae bloom on Milwaukee River west of I-43. Photo taken July 11th, 2009. The only alteration to the photo was cropping and resizing- no color-correction, brightening, etc were done. El rio esta muy, muy verde, verdad!!!
Algae bloom photo taken July 10. Again, no color change or brightening were done to this photo.I made sure to take photos at two different times of the day, at two different light levels. I only wish I could also capture the foul odor. Someday, computers may be able to transmit such a thing.
We have been told that a damless river (which it is, in effect, now, since the dam is not holding back any water) would be a healthier river, and not prone to such unpleasant phenomena. But as you can see (and smell) for yourself, this is not the case.
I am not a biologist. I do not know if this is the infamous "blue-green algae" that kills dogs who consume it- but I certainly hope not, as I have been watching two lovely deer on the other bank munching on leaves and presumably drinking water also. Perhaps the Riverkeeper can tell me. I am about to send her an email.
10 comments:
Yikes!
It sure looks bad. It was fine down by Hubbard Thursday evening but by Friday had turned to pea soup.
It looks like an algae bloom. I have observed them before, but not quite this bad. The river is really low (@150 cfs), and we need rain desperately. Low water and sunlight team up with other factors to create this mess. I wonder if for some reason a catalyst such as a fertilizer runoff might have contributed. We will be monitoring the dissolved Oxygen levels this week. Hope the instruments don't melt!
Our river is a low gradient river, and as such there is more time for water to heat up and absorb sunlight. Although impoundments add to the problem, I expect that this issue would happen from time to time no matter if the dam is removed or not.
BTW, despite the comments on my blog, you are welcome anytime. I appreciate your writing as well!
Erik
Erik, thanks for the info re: the algae bloom.
As an aside, you and I both know that being told that one is welcome and actually being welcome are two completely different things.
R.O.,
I am telling you that you are welcome.
On another note, Algae has to feed on something. This bloom may be due to the huge bio-mass that was sent into the river in the form of partially treated and raw sewage in June. MMSD at its best. Food for thought.
Erik
RO,
Removing the dam is not a fix-all for this river, but it will improve the health of the river. You need to understand the Milwaukee River is a low gradient river and depends on rainfall/snowmelt to maintain flows. Algae blooms are going to happen occasionally. The Milwaukee River is never going to be perfect because it is an urban river with a lot of shit dumped into it, but that does not mean that it cannot be improved. If the dam is removed, there will be rehab of the streambed and bankside vegetation. But, that cannot happen until the dam is removed. The impoundment drawn down is not the same as the river without the dam. It takes time. Look at the dam removals in West Bend and Waubeka. Those two sites certainly don't look like the river above the Estabrook Dam, do they? Pay attention to the Lime Kiln Dam removal in the coming months. I bet within two years of the removal, you wouldn't even know there was dam there.
Brian
MMSD is conducting dye testing at approximately Capitol Drive and Humboldt Avenue. Dye testing is done to detect cross connections between pipes and to find other illicit discharges and plumbing problems where sewage is getting into rivers via stormwater pipes or vice versa. The dye is kelly green and actually very similar to that used by the City of Chicago on St. Patricks Day. It is non-toxic but looks very alarming at times.
Hi Riverkeeper!
Great to see you here.
I did note that it is a similar color to the Chicago River at St Pat's time, but the pixxx were taken upriver of that area- just west of I-43/Port Washington Road. Was there also testing upstream of the area you mention?
The DNR biologist checked out the river last night starting at Grafton, and found that there is definitely also an algae bloom underway and it starts with the Thiensville impoundment serving as an "incubator". All things being equal (N:P ratio, light and temperature) the "slow" time of flow (as retention time and growth rate) through the impoundment may be driving these events--as there is more time for water to interact with soluble nutrients in the water. While noticeably greener than normal in Thiensville area, the river was not nearly as discolored as observed from photos at Locust St. Dye testing probably contributed to the "greenness" downstream of Capital Drive. Monitoring sonde data also shows increased turbidity and decreased transparency downstream Thiensville Dam--upstream data seemed fairly normal for this time of year.
RO,
Wow, will you look at that?! An algae bloom CAUSED BY ANOTHER IMPOUNDMENT! Funny how those river systems work, eh? And here you thought the algae was caused by the Estabrook Dam remaining open... I really don't understand how you can continue to rationalize keeping the Estabrook Dam in place when science proves that rivers are healthier without them? You think fishing is barbaric. I think barbaric is preventing a river from becoming healthier by supporting an outdated and unnecessary dam. You want to be "green" and "environmental", yet you support maintaining a polluted, warm, algae growing impoundment with decreased fish diversity.
Brian
Well,
Thank you Cheryl for updating us. Green dye and algae at the same time. I know an algae bloom is occurring because last evening I went and did some exploring and the river is beginning to have a decayed algae smell. Also, there is more suspended particulate. Interesting to know that the Theinsville impoundment is suspected to be the culprit. Dams are just so much fun!
Sometimes, I wish people would comment on my other posts.
I did not say that fishing is barbaric. I said that catch-and-release fishing seems barbaric. (You failed to catch the pun, guys. OMG another pun- CATCH.)
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