Northwest USA Has Own Algae Bloom Troubles

To date, Clean Water Warrior (CWW) has largely discussed issues with toxic algae blooms and dead zones in the Great Lakes region. Farm runoff, for which it is the mission of CWW to reduce, and its catastrophic impact on freshwater, has been the subject of most CWW blogging.

But this is not to say that algae blooms are limited to the Great Lakes area, or freshwater. In fact, Alaska, Washington State, Oregon and, of course, the Western Coast of Canada are all struggling with the challenges of unusually warm ocean water becoming infested with algae.

Testing Algae From The Pacific Northwest
Testing Algae From The Pacific Northwest

In this report on a crab season in crisis, from the Weather Channel, we see that ocean saltwater, too, is not impervious to the damaging effects of algae. Solutions to the problems blooms create for the crab fishing industry are not clear — or even possible, for that matter, given that the blooms may be the result of warmer waters resulting from climate change.

Kenneth Vigil A Leading Voice In Clean Water Strategy

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ESA Home Page Link

For any interested in learning more about clean water best-practices, Kenneth Vigil, PE, LEED AP  is an excellent resource. With his easy-to-read book, Clean Water: An Introduction to Water Quality and Water Pollution Control (Amazon), Vigil details elements and approaches which are a part of the process of securing and maintaining an environment that promotes and maintains clean water.

Vigil is vice president and Northwest Environmental Hydrology leader at ESA, and directs a team toward science-based solutions in watershed management and restoration. Their aim is to provide a comprehensive, integrated approach to complex water and natural resource projects, where input from several disciplines is essential.