Toxic algae blooms increasing in Midwest U.S.

By ROBERT IMRIE (AP) WAUSAU, Wis. — Waterways across the upper Midwest are increasingly plagued with ugly, smelly and potentially deadly blue-green algae, bloomed by drought and fertilizer runoffs from farm fields, that’s killed dozens of dogs and sickened many people. Aquatic biologists say it’s a problem that falls somewhere between a human health concern and a nuisance, but will eventually lead to more human poisoning. State officials are telling people who live on algae-covered lakes to close their windows, stop taking walks along the picturesque shorelines and keep their dogs from drinking the rank water. Peggy McAloon, 62, lives on Wisconsin’s Tainter Lake and calls the algae blooms the “cockroach on the water.” “It is like living in the sewer for three weeks. You gag. You cannot go outside,” she said. “We have pictures of squirrels that are dead underneath the scum and fish that are dead. … It has gotten out of control because of the nutrient loads we as humans are adding to the waters.” … There’s little anybody can do besides wait for cooler temperatures, Vennie said. John Plaza, president of the Chetek Lakes Protection Association, which represents six lakes in northwest Wisconsin, said farm runoff, lawn fertilizers, septic systems and even ashes from leaves being burned on the shorelines are among factors contributing to the algae problems. “I have been a user of these lakes since 1962,” he said. “I have never experienced anything like this before. It’s nasty. People are saying we can’t live with this any more.” …

What’s ugly, smells, kills dogs? Blue-green algae