An algae bloom at Red Bud Isle.
Up until a few years ago, Austinites didn’t much worry about poisonous blue-green algae sickening them and killing their dogs. Then in 2018, flooding upstream of Austin sent massive amounts of runoff down the Colorado River and into area lakes.
That runoff contained agricultural and residential fertilizers, septic waste and other things that injected a supercharged dose of phosphorus into the water.
The algae, also known as cyanobacteria, feeds on phosphorous. So, its arrival in Lady Bird Lake the next year was likely not a coincidence, says Brent Bellinger, a senior scientist with Austin’s Watershed Protection Department.
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Scientist says toxic blue-green algae likely caused by cold weather
Scientist says toxic blue-green algae likely caused by cold weather
Most of the algae present at Lake Travis is harmless, but the LCRA said this year tests showed toxic blue-green algae mixed in.
LAKE TRAVIS, Texas - The Lower Colorado River Authority is continuing to test the water in the Highland Lakes after ten locations of Lake Travis tested positive for toxins from blue-green algae.
Most of the algae present at Lake Travis is harmless, but the LCRA said this year tests showed toxic blue-green algae mixed in. Until you ve got the all-clear, I would kind of avoid it, said John Higley, CEO and principal scientist for Environmental Quality Operations, an Austin-based laboratory that aims to detect, monitor, and eradicate invasive species.