MUSKEGON, MI — Photographers have captured evidence of an ongoing, harmful algae bloom plaguing Muskegon Lake and overflowing into Lake Michigan.
On Thursday, August 8, Muskegon videographer David J. Ruck captured aerial photos showing blue-green algae exiting Muskegon Lake through the harbor channel and appearing to spread on both sides of the harbor piers.
Ruck, who produced a documentary about Lake Erie’s annual coral bloom called “The Erie Situation,” has been monitoring the coral bloom in Muskegon Lake for several weeks.
“I knew it was going to be a bad year,” said Ruck, who took pictures of the bloom between 7:30 and 10:30 a.m. Thursday morning. “We had no winter and just a lot of rain.”
The bloom migration comes two days after the Muskegon County Health Department advised communities on August 6 to post signs at access points around Muskegon Lake.
But that sign has yet to be installed at Pere Marquette Beach, a popular city park on Lake Michigan next to the harbor where the Great Lakes Surf Festival is taking place this weekend.
“This is concerning,” said city parks director Kyle Karczewski when he learned of photos of the bloom flooding into Lake Michigan Thursday morning.
“The health department told us it was the inland beaches – Muskegon Lake – and that Pere Marquette was not that big of a problem,” Karczewski said.
“The city is giving in to the health department.”
Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are caused by high water temperatures and nutrient runoff, especially phosphorus. Cyanobacteria or blue-green algae produce microcystin, a liver toxin that can make people and animals sick.
A larger-than-average algal bloom has survived several weeks of stormy weather in Muskegon Lake, said Alan Steinman, research professor at the Annis Water Resources Institute at Grand Valley State University (GVSU) in Muskegon.
The algal bloom is a mixture of different types of algae, he said. Foam is present in bays and coastal areas with little water circulation.
“It’s a really unusual bloom,” Steinman said. “I wish I could tell you why it lasted so long, but I really can’t explain it. I’m honestly quite surprised.”
Steinman said GVSU staff took samples of the bloom and tested them for toxicity and that the levels were “not egregious, but not insignificant either.”
A harmful algae bloom in Muskegon Lake near the Annis Water Resources Institute in Muskegon, Thursday, Aug. 8.GVSU AWRI
Based on these tests, communities around the lake were recommended to put up signs warning people not to enter the water because of the presence of toxic algae known to cause illness in humans and death in pets.
Mike Eslick, operations manager for the health department, was not aware of the algae migration Thursday. He said the focus was on Muskegon Lake and nearby Mona Lake, which also have signs of algae growth.
“There was no major concern about the Great Lakes beaches,” Eslick said.
Eslick said testing for algal blooms is difficult because it takes a while to get results from a state lab, and algal blooms can appear and disappear quickly. Or they can persist.
Wind and waves capable of destroying a bloom are forecast for this weekend as a cold front is expected to bring unsettled weather to the lakeshore.
Steinman predicted the algal bloom could dissipate in Lake Michigan as winds increase. The lake generally lacks the nutrients to sustain an algal bloom for long periods of time.
The lake’s typical circulation pattern moves water north from Muskegon, he said – away from the surf festival but toward the beaches of Muskegon State Park.
While the greatest danger is the ingestion of cyanobacteria, “there is a possibility that some of these toxins could be released in aerosols if the concentration is high enough.”
“I don’t want to downplay any potential concerns about the surf festival – we certainly don’t want to put anyone at risk. But given the conditions we’re experiencing right now, my gut feeling is that there won’t be a problem,” he said.
“If you contact us about collecting a sample, we are happy to do so,” Steinman said.
Surf festival organizer Joe Bidawid said the city’s warning about an algae bloom was posted on the event’s website and staff will check the water before people go in.
“The algal bloom has been around for a long time. It is nothing new,” said Bidawid. “We have it on our radar.”
Algae is nothing new to Muskegon Lake, which drains from the Muskegon River and is prone to algal blooms. Last October, the lake turned green with algae during a warm spell.
Surrounded by development and recovering from a long history of industrial mismanagement, Muskegon Lake is not as affected by agricultural runoff in its lower watershed as other lakes, which often struggle with algal blooms.
Eslick said people who encounter algae signs should “take precautions and definitely not go into the water or let their animals into the water.”
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