Parma: Scientists say toxic 'algae blooms' returning to Lake Erie

PARMA -- Residents near the ocean call the toxic algae the "red tide." In Lake Erie, it's called everything from "Green Kool-Aid" to "blue-green slime." No matter what the color, the impact can be just as dangerous.

Local scientists are getting ready for another invasion this summer of toxic algae in Lake Erie.

In Parma today, as the Ohio-Lake Erie Beach Conference convened inside the Cuyahoga County Board of Health offices, dozens of federal, state and local researchers gathered to share the latest warnings.

"This is not something to take lightly," said NOAA researcher Rich Stumpf.

"You certainly don't want to ingest the water with this kind of contamination."

Stumpf added, "and you don't want your dog playing in the water if you have one of these scum conditions because they can get sick and they can die."

The federal government has been studying Lake Erie water problems for months. Researchers have been putting probes in the water and taking data samples using satellites and airborne spectrographs.

Sonia Joseph Joshi, an outreach coordinator with the NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory in Ann Arbor, Michigan said, "you might get a skin rash if you were swimming in it. But it is a liver toxin and there have been reports in other countries where it has had some pretty significant health impacts."

Scientists say that there are many species of single-celled organisms living in Lake Erie. When certain conditions are present, such as high nutrient or light levels, these organisms can reproduce rapidly.

Those blooms of algae that contain toxins can cause the death of nearby fish and foul up nearby coastlines.

The blue-green algae in Lake Erie are actually bacteria (cyanobacteria) which are able to photosynthesize and produce a greenish color.

The most common species of toxic cyanobacteria in Lake Erie is microcystis aeruglinosa.

Stumpf said, "not all algae that produces scum produce the toxin. But the one that shows up in western Lake Erie consistently produces this toxin."

When all the winter ice melts, and the swimmers return to the beaches, so will the danger.

The researchers still haven't figured out a way to eliminate the toxic algae blooms.

In the meantime, they're hoping to find a way to predict when it will hit the beaches and water intakes around Lake Erie.