HAB's: Considerations and Ramifications of Management

Andrew Z. Skibo, PhD Aquatic Technology &

Market Development Manager Great Plains & Mountain Territory

West M. Bishop Algae Scientist and Water Quality Research

Manager

Executive Summary

• Common HAB Species & Identification

• HAB Environmental Impacts

Putting the “H” in HAB

• Ecological Drivers & Management Decision Triggers

• Proactive Management Case Studies

• Q&A

The Threat of Algae • Irrigation

– Allelopathic compounds, clogging

• Drinking

– Toxins & taste/odor issues – Cattle, dog, sheep deaths

• Recreation

• Industrial use – TSS, TOC

• Wildlife – Endocrine disruption

Our freshwater resources are vulnerable to attack

• What is our action plan? Our defense?

Common HAB Species &

Identification

Algae name Phylum Characteristics

Lyngbya Cyanophyta filamentous, toxin/taste and odor producer, mucilaginous, mat-former

Algae name Phylum Characteristics

Microcystis, Anabaena Aphanizomenon, Planktothrix, etc.

Cyanophyta Colonial, filamentous, toxin producer, mucilaginous, planktonic,

“scum-formers”

Algae name Phylum Characteristics

Nostoc Cyanophyta Colonial, soft gel

HAB Environmental Impacts

HAB impacts

Toxins /taste & odor compounds

Economic

Ecological

Water characteristics

Habitat Disruption/ Outcompete

Drinking/ Irrigation

Loss of Recreation

Property Values

(Speziale et al. 1991; Falconer 1996; WHO 2003)

What is the problem (opportunity)?

Litigation

• Cyanotoxins – HR 5753 Congress proposed regulation of cyanotoxins

• Taste and Odor compounds – Geosmin, MIB, > 200

• Disinfection By-Products (DBP’s) precursors – Trihalomethanes (THM’s), Halo Acetic Acids (HAA)

• In House Chemical Treatment Demand – Activated Carbon, Chlorine

– Permanganate, Flocculents

• Mechanical: Clogging of Intakes

HAB Economical Impacts

• Secondary Compounds

– Taste and Odor Compounds • Geosmin “dirty”

• 2-Methylisoborneol “MIB”

“fishy”

– Toxin Production • Hepatotoxins “liver”

• Neurotoxins “brain”

• Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) “stomach”

• Aplysiatoxins “skin”

HAB Ecological Impacts

Taste and Odor Compounds Geosmin 2-methylisoborneol (MIB)

cyc b-cyclocitral Hep heptadec-cis-ene Hex cis-3-hexane-1-ol Htd hepta-trans, cis 2,4,dienal Merc isopropyl mercaptan Nonenal 2-trans-nonenol Ott Octa-trans, cis 1,3,5-triene tri-meth trimethylamine

Humans can detect ~10 ppt in water

Chloro = Chlorophyta Chrys = Chrysophyceae Cyan = Cyanobacteria Diatom = Diatoms Rhodo = Rhodophyta Synur = Synurophyceae

Watson, 2003

The sun is 93 million miles away.

You’re 32 years old, you have lived about 1 billion seconds = 1ppm

= 1ppt

Cyanobacteria Neurotoxins • Alkaloid neurotoxins

– Anatoxin-a and Homo-anatoxin

depolarizing neuromuscular blockade • Anabaena (flos-aqua, circinalis, spiroides); Oscillatoria spp.

(Carmichael 1975, 1979)

– Saxitoxin and Neosaxitoxin

inhibit nerve conduction by blocking sodium channels, PSP • Trichodesmium, Anabaena, Aphanizomenon, Cylindrospermopsis • Lyngbya wollei (decarbamoylgonyauxin-2, decarbamosaxitoxin, 6 unidentified compounds; Onodera et al.

1997) (PSP gene cluster, Mihali et al. 2011)

Cyanobacteria Toxins

– Cylindrospermopsin and Deoxycylindrospermopsin

(cytotoxic, hepatotoxic, inhibit protein synthesis)

• Aphanizomenon , Cylindrospermopsis, Umezakia, Stigonematales, Raphidiopsis curvata (Li et al. 2001); Lyngbya wollei (Seifert et al. 2007)

– β-Methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA)

(limb atrophy, motor skills, neuron degeneration)

• Nostoc (Miller et al. 2006), Stigonematales

Cyanobacterial Hepatotoxins

• Polycyclic peptide hepatotoxins

– Microcystin (> 80 analogues) , Nodularin

(Tumor promoters, liver failure, protein disruption, Allelopathy) • Anabaena, Anabaenopsis, Coelosphaerium, Gomphosphaeria,

Hapalosiphon, Microcystis, Nodularia, Nostoc, Oscillatoria, Planktothrix; Aphanocapsa cumulus (Domingos et al. 1999); Merismopedia and Leptolyngbya (Mohammed and Al Shehri 2010)

– In addition, chemically undefined hepatotoxins are being studied in: • Cylindrospermopsis, Aphanizomenon, Gloeotrichia

Other Cyanobacterial Toxins

• Lipopolysaccharides (LPS)

– Gastrointestinal impacts, immune system response

• Dermatitis toxins

Swimmers itch, abrasions

– Aplysiatoxins, Lyngbyatoxin-a • Lyngbya, Oscillatoria, Schizothrix

- Harr et al. 2008

Other Reports • Endocrine disruption fish

– Microcystis spp. (Rogers et al. 2011)

• Embryo development fish – (Oberemm et al. 1999)

• Shown to be toxic but no toxin has been isolated and characterized

• Coelosphaerium, Cylindrospermopsis, Fischerella, Gloeotrichia, Gomphosphaeria, Hapalosiphon, Microcoleus, Schizothrix, Scytonema, Spirulina, Symploca, Tolypothrix, Trichodesmium (Scott 1991; Skulberg et al. 1992b)

Cyanotoxin Summary

• New compounds are continually being identified from cyanobacteria

• Increasing numbers of cyanobacteria with documented toxin production

• Additional negative effects of existing compounds are being elucidated

• Effective proactive and retroactive

Ecological Drivers

&

Management Decision Triggers

Sources of Nutrients • Fertilizer

• Pet waste

• Wildlife

• Livestock/agriculture

• Municipal wastewater

• Industrial effluent

• Atmospheric deposition

• Internal cycling

Section 2.2.2 b. Pest Management Options

2007 USEPA National Lakes Assessment

• 46% of waters are eutrophic/hyper-eutrophic

• Nutrient levels are second biggest issue threatening waters

• Regulations

– NPDES

Statistical assessment of health of ponds, lakes, reservoirs

Carpenter, S.R. 2008. Phosphorus control is critical to mitigating eutrophication. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 105:11039–11040.

Natural Man Made

Intensity of Management

• Biomass correlation

– Liebig’s law of the minimum

– Critical burden

• Mass/mass relationship

• Rate calculation

Schindler, D.W., Hecky, R. E., Findlay, D. L., Stainton, M. P., Parker, B. R., Paterson, M., Beaty, K. G., Lyng, M. & Kasian, S. E. M. 2008 Eutrophication of lakes cannot be controlled by reducing nitrogen input: results of a 37 year whole ecosystem experiment. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 105, 11 254–11 258.

[1# P = 500# Algal Biomass]

Phosphorus is key

Cyanobacteria and phosphorus

• Fix Nitrogen (dependent on P availability)

– (Paerl 1990, 1991; Stewart and Alexander 1971)

• Low N:P ratio dominate – (Smith 1983; Seale et al. 1987; Ghadouani et al 2003)

• Migrate to sediments to acquire phosphorus – (Perakis et al. 1996; Barbiero and Welch 1992)

• Store phosphorus – (Ganf and Oliver 1982; Kromkamp et al 1989)

• Rapidly uptake – (Jacobson and Halman 1982)

Phosphorus (P) Mitigation • External Inputs

• Fertilizer, stormwater runoff BMP, atmosphere, biota

• Internal accumulation - TN:TP ratio 5:1 cyanobacteria overwhelmingly dominant

artificially induced (Ghadouani et al. 2003) - Low TN:TP cyanobacteria dominate (Lake Michigan) (Seale et al. 1987) - TN:TP ratio 29:1, dominated by green algae (Smith 1983; 12 lakes throughout the world) - Si:P < 25:1 Microcystis dominates, more silica more Asterionella (Holm & Armstrong 1981)

• Carbon, Light, Temperature (>24C), Moving water

Phosphorus Cycling

DO Drop FRP Release

HAB Bloom

T&O DT50

T&O cpds

Phosphorus Pollution Mitigation Options

• Chemical – Phoslock® Lanthanum modified bentonite (FRP specific, no

buffer, permanent) – Aluminum sulfate (Alum, non-specific, pH/other impacts) – Algaecide combined with phosphorus mitigant (SeClear®) – Polymers (Floc Log, Chitosan) – Chelated Iron (non-specific, release)/ Calcium (high pH only,

release)

• Other – Aeration (oxygenate benthic layers) – Dredging (remove/re-suspension possible) – Bacteria?

Better Water In Better

Water Out

Source Control

Controlling cyanos and phosphorus in supply reservoirs

Action Threshold Based Approach

• Set AT levels in accordance with management objectives

• Never have levels that cause complaints

• Immediate identification of the problem/ rapid solution implementation

• Less in-house demand required • many T&O compounds difficult to treat and costly

• Treat prior to having a real problem • strategic applications, adaptable

• Avoid public concern over quality, safety

Action Threshold Based Approach

TP/FRP Pollution 303(d) Listing

HAB Event Complaints Exceedances

DBP’s T&O

Cyanotoxins T&O Compounds

KMnO4

Cl+

H2O2

“Traditional”/ Reactive Management

Cu+

2Na2CO3 · 3H2O2

P Mitigation

Proactive Management

X X X X Algae AT Mitigation

Our Experience

Case Studies

Treated with Phoslock

No Phoslock Treatment

Lake Lorene, WA

• 8.2 surface acres

• Avg. depth 5 feet, max. depth 12 feet

• Multi-purpose lake, community focal point

• Cyanobacteria blooms, toxins (mcy >2,000 ppb; atx >100ppt), thick scums, animal and human health concerns

Program Design & Implementation

• Solution: Phoslock applied on June 11, 2012 to target bio-available phosphorus in water & sediment (Phase 1); April 2013 phase II

• Assessment: monitor water quality/algae from 3 in lake

locations over a 120 day period (WADOE permit)

0.0

20.0

40.0

60.0

80.0

100.0

120.0

11-Jun 11-Jul 11-Aug 11-Sep 11-Oct

ug

/L

Lake Lorene, WA Phosphorus Summary

TP

FRP

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

11-June 12-Jun 18-Jun 18-Jul 20-Aug 24-Sep 25-Oct

Lake Lorene, WA Shift away from cyanobacteria

Diatoms/ other

Green Algae

Cyanobacteria

August 2011

July 2012

Lake Lorene Summary

• 72% decline TP

• 53% decline FRP

• No blue-green algae blooms (2012-13)

• Secchi depth to bottom (~8ft)

• No adverse impacts to beneficial aquatic

organisms

Adjacent Water body: Lake Jeane

Summer 2012 Date Dominant Algae Toxin Type

Jeane Toxin Levels (ug/L)

8/30/2011 Anabaena sp Microcystin 8.27

9/6/2011 Anabaena sp/Microcystis sp Microcystin 87.5

9/13/2011 Anabaena sp/ Aulacoseira sp Microcystin 100

9/21/2011 Anabaena sp/ Aulacoseira sp Microcystin 0.324

9/28/2011 Aulacoseira sp./Closteriopsis sp. Microcystin 0.104

8/3/2012 Anabaena sp/ Staurastrum sp. Microcystin <MDL

8/10/2012 Microcystin 0.104

Aug. 2012

NE Reservoir: 2013

• Assessment – Taste and odor algae

– Treatment zone around intake

– 16 surface acres, 15 feet deep

• Implementation – Treated with SeClear

(0.15ppm Cu) once AT exceeded

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

70,000

80,000

6/24/137/1/2013

7/8/20137/15/2013

7/22/20137/30/2013

8/5/20138/12/2013

8/19/20138/26/2013

9/3/20139/9/2013

9/16/20139/24/2013

10/1/2013

Ce

lls/m

L

Sampling Date

Total Algae Densities

1 foot algae

5 foot algae

10 foot algae

Arrows indicate threshold exceeded and subsequent SeClear application

Geosmin Analysis

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

6.3.13 6.17.13 6.24.13 7.01.13 7.09.13 7.23.13 7.30.13 8.5.13 8.12.13 8.26.13 9.3.13 9.24.13

pp

t

Date

Human detection

limit

AT: Take back our drinking water • Set action threshold levels for nuisance

algae, taste/odor levels, complaints

• Pre-treatment samples from source water for algae location/densities

• Immediately implement NSF/ANSI 60 certified product application

• Continue to monitor post-treatment,

document effectiveness

Discussion/Summary • Phosphorus is a factor in water resource

management

• Phosphorus tied to intensity of management and nuisance algae selection

• In situ mitigation is critical to address cause of negative water quality

– “Legacy” P vs estimated (or quantified) annual load

• P-mitigation will have significant impacts

• Different approach, different results

• Cyanobacteria and their potential byproducts are a growing threat to Colorado’s water

• Managing the source is critical to solving

• Action Threshold based management approach can preserve uses

• Use NSF/ ANSI 60 certified solutions, proactively to avoid the secondary issues from the off

Discussion/Summary

Andrew Z. Skibo, PhD Market Development Manager & Technical Support Specialist

andrew.skibo@sepro.com

Thank You CLRMA!