lake erie algae bloom hand in water.jpg

Hazardous algal blooms such as this in 2011 will become more common on Lake Erie if action is not taken to reduce agricultural runoff, a report says.

( Jeff Reutter, Ohio Sea Grant file)

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Increased heavy rains combining with agricultural runoff are leading to record-breaking algae blooms on Lake Erie, and it's only going to get worse unless changes are made, according to a National Wildlife Federation report released today.

And if voluntary changes are not effective, it might mean farmers will face new state and federal regulations.

"Most nutrient managers and farmers see the writing on the wall," said Melinda Koslow, regional program manager at Great Lakes office of the National Wildlife Federation in Ann Arbor, Mich., and a co-author of the study. "(Regulation) might not be a bad thing because, obviously, we need to do something about this problem."

Farmers realize there is a problem with runoff from fields, said Les Ober of the Ohio State University Extension in Burton. He said the process of educating farmers on how to combat it will take time.

However, they're not eager to see new regulations implemented, he said.

"This didn't happen overnight and it's probably not going to go away overnight," Ober said. "It's just changing the mindset of farmers out there, getting them to change the ways they've been doing things."

Today's report says climate change is resulting in more instances of heavy rain and drought, both of which contribute to runoff of excess fertilizer and livestock waste. The increase in heavy rainstorms carries more nutrients from those sources into the lake, feeding toxic algae blooms. (See the full report below; mobile users can go here.)

"Lake Erie’s water quality is compromised and thus impacts the health of the people and wildlife," the report concludes. "Without serious action on curbing greenhouse gas pollution — as, unfortunately, is the case currently — we will continue to experience warmer air temperatures and the intense weather events that occur as a result."

Don Scavia, director of the Graham Environmental Sustainability Institute at University of Michigan, said funding in a federal farm bill currently being debated must be sufficient for voluntary reduction programs to succeed, and that funding be targeted in areas where the problem is worst. He also said he would like to see recipients of federal farm subsidies or insurance be required to participate in conservation programs.

Scavia acknowledged that regulations on agricultural runoff would not be popular. Peter Richard, senior research scientist with National Center for Water Quality Research at Heidelberg University, said enforcing them would be a chore as well.

"The Maumee water basin is 4 million acres," he said. "Trying to manage that would be extremely difficult."

Farmers can make a difference by changing the ways they apply fertilizers or how they plant. Ober said agricultural officials with the university and the state have made this a priority.

"It's a very serious problem and we take this very seriously," Ober said. "I haven’t talked to a farmer yet that wasn’t concerned with what’s going on. A lot of these guys fish on Lake Erie. ... I don’t want to go back to the '50s and '60s."

Today's report mirrors another from earlier this month that also says algae blooms might become a more common occurrence on Lake Erie.

In 2011 the lake had record-setting algae blooms, covering thousands of square miles. Hazardous blooms were not as large in 2012 because of drought conditions, although they did occur.