Algal Blooms Research Paper

Algae are a natural component of aquatic ecosystems, however, due to the magnifying effects of climate change and nutrient pollution of natural waters, as well as considering the growing demands on potable water due to growing populations, algal blooms pose a growing threat to water safety. We are observing increasing instances of algal blooms, which pose a significant threat to human and native ecosystem health, reduce aesthetic quality of source water by causing taste and odor issues, and may harm the filtration systems employed in water treatment, thus driving up the costs of water treatment.
Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are often accompanied by growth of microorganisms known as cyanobacteria, a photosynthetic prokaryotic species that occur …show more content…
An Alert Level Framework has been in developed in Australia, in effort to protect drinking water sources, and formal and informal guidelines exist for a number of cyanobacterial toxins. In recent years the United States regulatory agencies, like the US EPA, as well as local utilities, have also begun assessing threats posed by algal toxins. (Nicholson, 2007) The ongoing goal is to develop regulations and guidelines for water resource management to protect American drinking water sources from these toxins.
Cyanobacterial blooms can be managed through a variety of practices, divided roughly into prevention, control, and eradication. Preventative tactics focus on watershed management plans, such as physical, chemical, and biological treatments. Control practices can be either applied in the water body or during the water treatment process, and include scum removal, coagulation and filtration, and oxidation. Finally, eradication practices aim to destroy blooms through chemical treatments, using substances like copper sulfate and lime. (Carmichael,