Prior Lake Spring Lake Watershed District
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Rss
info@plslwd.org
952-447-4166
  • Home
  • About 
    • District Overview
    • District Background
    • Meetings
      • Meetings
      • Board Materials, Meeting Minutes & Video Recordings
      • Citizen Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • District Plans & Reports
    • MS4 Application & SWPPP
    • District Press
    • Maps
    • Partners
    • Employment Opportunities
  • Waterbodies
    • Arctic Lake
    • Buck Lake
    • Cates Lake
    • Crystal Lake
    • Fish Lake
    • Haas Lake
    • Jeffers Pond
    • Pike Lake
    • Prior Lake, Lower
    • Prior Lake, Upper
    • Prior Lake Outlet Channel
      • Prior Lake Outlet Channel (PLOC)
      • Outlet Structure
      • FEMA Repairs
      • Prior Lake Outlet System Reports
    • Rice Lake
    • Spring Lake
    • Sutton Lake
    • Swamp Lake
  • Projects and Programs 
    • Projects
      • Alum Treatments
      • Carp Management
        • Carp Management
        • Carp Removal UPDATES
        • Carp Volunteer Opportunities
      • Ferric Chloride Treatment Facility
      • Fish Lake Shoreline & Prairie Restoration Project
      • CR 12/17 Wetland Restoration
      • Lower Prior Lake Protection Projects
        • Fish Point Park Retrofits
        • Sand Point Beach Park Project
        • Indian Ridge Water Quality Improvement
        • Watzl’s Beach Shoreline Restoration
      • Raymond Park Restoration Project
      • Spring Lake Shoreline Restoration
      • Sutton Lake Stormwater Storage Project
    • Monitoring
      • Stream Monitoring
      • Lake Monitoring
      • Precipitation
    • Rules and Permitting
    • 2020 Water Resources Management Plan
  • News & Events
  • Learn More
    • Home and Yard
    • Shoreline
    • Boating
    • Ponds & Wetlands
    • Agriculture
    • Fact Sheets
  • Get Involved!
    • 50th Anniversary of the District
    • Calendar
    • Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC)
    • Farmer-Led Council (FLC)
      • FARMER-LED COUNCIL EVENTS
      • FLC Cost-Share Opportunities
      • Cover Crop Initiative
      • Lake-Friendly Farm Program
    • Volunteer Opportunities
      • Volunteer Events
      • Monitoring Opportunities
      • Carp Volunteer Opportunities
    • Cost Share – Fund Your Project
    • Training & Workshops
  • Contact
    • Board Members
    • Staff
Search our website...

Blue-Green Algae on Upper Prior Lake

Posted by Jaime Rockney - October 6, 2016 - News, Monitoring
2016-10-03-15-25-44

Blue-Green Algae on Upper Prior 10/3/16

Reports have been made of Blue-Green Algae on Upper Prior Lake this week.  Algal blooms are more common in summer months, but they can happen during other times of the year.  Please be sure to keep out of the water if you suspect Blue-Green algae as it sometimes contains a toxin that can be harmful if ingested.  Pets are especially at risk since they are more likely to go into the water regardless of what it looks like.  When in doubt, best keep out!

Steve McComas with Blue Water Science, also known as the “Lake Detective”, stated that he has “seen algal blooms in a number of metro lakes in the last week or two.   ”  He  also connected the recent problems with the weather, the likely culprits being” a combination of the heavy rain, high winds, and warm temperatures, but the algae episode should run its course in a week or two.”

Lakes are usually stratified (separated into layers by water temperature) during summer and winter, but mixing occurs in spring and fall.  According to McComas, area lakes are still stratified, but shallow water areas have been mixing. When lakes mix, or “turn-over”, the water from the bottom of the lake comes to the surface, and vice versa.  Warm spring air temperatures cause the top of the water to become warmer than the bottom, which in turn causes the lake to “turn over” because of differences in the density of water at different temperatures.  Water is most dense at about 39 degrees Fahrenheit.  During fall, the cool air temperatures will cool the surface water and create the same phenomena when the surface water becomes cooler than the bottom of the lake.  This mixing process can promote algae growth if the bottom of the lake is high in phosphorous and the weather is right.  Wind and rain can also cause mixing.

Upper Prior Lake has higher phosphorous levels in the lake bed than both Lower Prior Lake and Spring Lake.  The Prior Lake – Spring Lake Watershed District is currently conducting a study to analyze options for reducing the phosphorus in the bottom of Upper Prior Lake.  As was done in 2013 on Spring Lake, an Alum treatment is one option being considered.  The phosphorous levels are high from an accumulation of many years of input from the watershed.  According to studies, most of the phosphorous comes from agricultural areas, but some also comes from urban areas.  Urban areas have fertilized lawns and leaves from trees that fall into the streets and are washed into the lake through the storm sewer system.  If you live in an area that drains to a lake, some of the things you can do to reduce phosphorous inputs are to use phosphorous-free fertilizers, install native plantings along your shoreline or in a rain garden, mulch or compost leaves and grass clippings, and pick up after your pets.

For more information, please review this past article we posted about Blue-Green Algae if you have algae by your shoreline.

 

News & Events

  • Ongoing Projects
    • Fish Point Park Retrofits
    • Highway 13 Ferric Chloride
    • Monitoring
    • CR 12/17 Wetland Restoration
    • Carp Management
      • Where are the carp?
    • Flood Study
    • Indian Ridge Park Water Quality Project
    • Spring Lake Shoreline Restoration
  • Completed Projects
    • Arctic Lake Subwatershed Analysis
    • Lower Prior Diagnostic Study
    • Spring Lake Alum Treatment
  • News
  • Flooding Updates
  • Prior Lake
  • Spring Lake

News Archives

Prior Lake – Spring Lake Watershed District

The District covers about 42 square miles in Scott County, MN. Water in the PLSLWD flows mainly from the southwest to the northeast through Spring, Upper Prior and Lower Prior Lakes, and then north through the Prior Lake Outlet Channel to the Minnesota River near Valley Fair amusement park.
Clean Water Land & Legacy Amendment

Prior Lake - Spring Lake Watershed District
4646 Dakota Street SE
Prior Lake, MN 55372

Phone: (952) 447-4166
Email: info@plslwd.org

PLSLWD on FacebookPLSLWD on Twitter

Quick Links

  • Home
  • About Us
  • News & Events
  • FAQ
  • Waterbodies
  • Prior Lake Outlet Channel (PLOC)
  • Projects and Programs
  • Contact Us
(c) 2018 Prior Lake Spring Lake Watershed District, All Rights Reserved. Minneapolis web design by Iceberg.