Annual blooms of toxic cyanobacteria on western Lake Erie shouldn't be quite as bad this year.
Scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and regional institutions predict the 2020 summer cyanobacteria bloom will be among the smallest since 2011.
Rick Stumpf is with the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science. He says the data shows this year should be better than last year.
But Stumpf says agricultural runoff from the Maumee River watershed is still a problem.
“That means there will be some noticeable bloom,” said Stumpf.
Cyanobacteria has become a recurring problem in the lake that serves as a fresh water source for communities in Michigan, Ohio and Ontario.
In 2014, the harmful blooms forced Toledo to temporarily shut down its drinking water supply. That affected hundreds of thousands of people.