Whether you go out on a boat, to a beach or get your drinking water from Lake Erie, you know harmful algal blooms are a problem.
But they’re not limited to this Great Lake. The blooms are a threat to all five lakes, the connectors like the Detroit River and Lake St. Clair and other parts of the watershed.
A new documentary explores the issue and helps residents of the region understand what’s a stake and what possible solutions could be. Produced by David J. Ruck and Plastic Oceans, the film has aired at film festivals around the region this year. Ruck, who lives in Muskegon, Mich., is a regular contributor to Great Lakes Now.
In partnership, PBS stations in six cities and three states that border Lake Erie — and one along Lake Superior — are simultaneously broadcasting the film and sharing more resources with residents about this important environmental and economic issue.
Tune in at 9 p.m. ET, Monday, Sept. 12 on:
Buffalo Public Media in New York
Detroit Public Television in southeast Michigan
Ideastream Public Media in Cleveland, Ohio
WGTE-TV in Toledo, Ohio
WNMU-TV in Marquette, Michigan
WQLN-TV in Erie, Pennsylvania
Read the latest on harmful algal blooms:
Wisconsin officials ask the public to report algal blooms in Lake Superior
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is banking on public oversight to help gauge the threat of algal blooms.
Toxic blooms on Lake Erie still a problem 10 years after Toledo issued a ‘do not drink’ order
It’s been ten years since Toledo issued a ‘don not drink’ order for its water system for three days due to cyanobacterial blooms near its water intake in Lake Erie. The blooms are not any worse, but they are not any less.
A Decade After Crisis, Algal Blooms Persist
Efforts to cut nutrients in Lake Erie remain ineffective.
Dams may slow harmful algal blooms in urban lakes, expert says
Like clockwork, Michigan’s Ford Lake and its downstream neighbor, Belleville Lake, turn bright green every summer due to harmful algal blooms.
Can Michigan reduce phosphorus pollution getting into Lake Erie by 40 percent?
Michigan won’t reach the phosphorus reduction goal by 2025 as planned. It’s uncertain when it might attain that goal to help reduce cyanobacterial blooms in Lake Erie.
Michigan farm czar: Our fight against Lake Erie pollution isn’t working
Ahead of a gathering to assess the health of Lake Erie, Michigan acknowledges it won’t meet a 2025 deadline to cut phosphorus runoff into the lake by 40 percent.
WATCH: Ontario’s greenhouse sector with The Narwhal
The Catch took a look at why experts are saying water from greenhouses in southern Ontario could be harming Lake Erie. Journalist and farmer Matt McIntosh recently reported on the issue for The Narwhal.
Lake Erie is full of algae again. Southwestern Ontario’s exploding greenhouse sector won’t help
Experts say nutrient-rich water from greenhouse farms could be harming Lake Erie, but Ontario’s Environment Ministry has issued very few fines for potential algae-causing infractions.
US EPA okays Ohio plan to reduce toxic cyanobacterial blooms; Environmentalists say it won’t work
Environmentalists say the Ohio plan will not work because it doesn’t hold agriculture responsible for the runoff from fields using manure from factory farms as fertilizer.
Toxins from cyanobacterial blooms can be airborne, but the threat to public health is unclear
Researchers are studying how much of cyanobacterial toxins become airborne. They say breathing in the toxins is much worse than ingesting them.
Scientists are learning just how complicated it will be to reduce toxic blooms in Lake Erie
Two decades of study reveals a complex combination of factors causing large cyanobacterial blooms and their toxicity. Government incentives to reduce nutrient pollution from farms have not been enough to solve the problem so far.