SALT LAKE CITY (AP) – Scientists spent this week studying how nutrient levels contribute to algae blooms on the heels of this summer’s massive outbreak that closed Utah Lake, sickened people and left farmers scrambling for clean water during some of the hottest days of the year.
The goal of the study on the waters of Utah Lake and the Great Salt Lake is to determine how to predict outbreaks before they happen, said Christopher Shope, a research hydrologist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Utah.
That would allow state and county officials to be able to warn boaters, swimmers and farmers ahead of time, he said. The federal agency conducted the study.
Toxic algae is a problem around the U.S. An enormous outbreak in Florida this year fouled beaches on the Atlantic coast, and a 2014 outbreak at Lake Erie left more than 400,000 people in the Toledo, Ohio, area without tap water for two days.
This study is an experimental “proof of concept” project designed to show longer-term research is worth the financial investment, Shope said. Currently, state officials monitor water bodies for algae on a limited basis because equipment is expensive, and monitoring and analyzing are time-consuming.