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New Hope for Killing Algae Blooms
Author:
May 6, 2021
As we enter boating’s prime time for another summer, the hope that our waterways won’t be mired in green goop is about as slim as trying to find brain cells in Congress. Still, there may be hope, and it’s good news for the boating industry’s future that depends on clean waters.
Harmful algae blooms are plaguing U.S. waterways from the Gulf of Mexico to the lakes of Minnesota. And, deserving or not, annual summer blooms in Lake Erie gain national notoriety each year. But new technology being tested in Ohio may prove to be the key to killing algae blooms.
As the weather warms and draws people to the water, tests are about to begin on a new technique for killing off harmful algal blooms in Ohio’s streams and lakes.
The technology being tested creates ozone and injects it into a waterway in the form of microscopic bubbles. Once in the water, the ozone can kill unwanted algae, destroy toxins, and boost oxygen levels, said Heather Raymond, director of the Water Quality Initiative at The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES).
When these tiny bubbles of ozone called “nanobubbles” burst in the water, they produce hydroxyl radicals and peroxides. Those substances can further destroy harmful algae and possibly help cut off the algae’s food supply, thus preventing future blooms.