THUNDER BAY — Help is on the way for some lakeside property-owners dealing with blue-green algae blooms.
Blooms caused by cyanobacteria are potentially toxic, and have impacted multiple area lakes every summer in recent years.
The Lakehead Region Conservation Authority recently received funding to help landowners mitigate the risk.
Details have not been fully disclosed, but the LRCA announced the launch of the Shoreline Protection: Cyanobacteria Education and Outreach project on social media.
According to the post, the project will support the planting of native vegetation to improve water quality, reduce nutrient loading and enhance shoreline areas.
Property-owners experiencing algae blooms are being invited to apply for professional consultation on shoreline restoration.
Ten eligible applicants will receive onsite advice, a planting plan, and about 100 native plants to re-vegetate the shoreline.
"The LRCA is looking forward to working with private landowners to implement projects that will result in meaningful change and improved water quality," the announcement stated.
More information will be provided Tuesday from 7 p.m. to 8:30 pm at an Open House at the LRCA offices at 130 Conservation Road, but pre-registration is required.
Alternatively, interested members of the public may attend online by emailing [email protected].
Nathan Wilson, a PhD student at Lakehead University, has been researching blue-green algae in the Thunder Bay area for several years.
Through his not-for-profit Blue Green Labs, he's recruited property-owners for a citizen science monitoring project that helps them better understand and manage their lakes.
Wilson said he's observed an upward trend in the occurrence of blue-green algae blooms, and the rate may be higher than what's been reported publicly through the Thunder Bay District Health Unit.
TBDHU reported eight outbreaks in 2024, but he said the health unit website only shows blooms confirmed by the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks.
"And they are only responsible to go to a lake (to take a water sample) one time. I know campers have reported subsequent blooms, but the ministry is not required to go out and sample further, so those don't necessarily get reported. But some people have developed campers association messaging through Facebook to let others know."
In addition to planting native vegetation, the risk that blue-green algae blooms will form can be reduced by proper maintenance of septic systems and by eliminating the use of lawn fertilizers.
