Help Make Lady Bird Lake Safe Again!
As a pet owner, what are the feelings that come from seeing your pet almost die? Dread? Panic? Sadness? These were all the feelings that I felt as I watched my dog stumble and walk after retrieving a wet ball at Lady Bird Lake. As a student at the University of Texas at Austin, and a dog owner myself I often went down to Lady Bird Lake with my friends and dog. During one of our routine visits to the lake, my dog went to fetch a ball that had fallen into the lake. Everything was going fine until about twenty minutes later when my dog began to wobble and vomit. Very shortly after she collapsed. the amount of panic that I experienced in that moment was unsurmountable. I immediately picked her up and left my friends without a word. I was only thinking of the fastest way to get to the hospital. Once we arrived she was placed into emergency care. For the next 5 hours I sat in the waiting area and could not stop thinking about my dog. I didn’t know whether or not she was going to make it. I kept replaying the moments of her collapse in my head wondering what could have possibly caused her condition. Thankfully after those long hours of waiting, a nurse came to me and told me that my dog was going to be fine. She said that I was very lucky and if I had waited any longer before coming in, the outcome may have been very different. This is where I learned about the dangers of cyanobacteria and the unsafe water quality of Lady Bird Lake. My dog had almost died for issues that I knew nothing about and this lack of information is apparent not only for me, but almost anyone that I have talked to. These two issues need to be more wide spread and more well known, so events like mine do not happen again. Lawmakers in Austin need to step up and support more water treatment options.
What is Cyanobacteria?
This is the first question that is needed to address these issues. Cyanobacteria is a type of blue-green algae that contain their own special pigments allowing them to produce their own food from the sun. They take the nutrients present in the ecosystem and use it to survive and grow. They are naturally occurring in most of the Texas waterways, and are especially present in slow moving, and warm waters. If left in these conditions, they can grow at an enormous rate, leading to algal blooms that form and spread across the surface of the water. Cyanobacteria is also one of the few bacteria that can produce a neurotoxin “which can cause rapid paralysis and death before there is time to get help (Palmer Lane Pet Hospital).” Recent drought summers in Austin have caused Lady Bird Lake to become the perfect host for these algae. With less and less rain water, the lake has become stagnant allowing the bacteria to grow without interruption. This coupled with fertilizer runoff, has provided the bacteria with even better conditions for growth. If left unchecked the bacteria can overtake the waterway, using the dissolved oxygen level that are needed by the other animals in the area to survive.
Why Should I Care?
The algal blooms have caused issues for a multitude of people and animals. Almost everyone that lives around the area are affected. “This pollution can make people sick and harm wildlife, and it makes it harder for many Texans to simply spend an enjoyable and worry-free day in the water (Metzger).” Austinites that have used that area have taken a large hit from these algal blooms. As this algae stays towards the top of the water, dogs and people have had major health issues causing the closure of areas of the lake such as Red Bud Isle. Dogs are especially susceptible to this toxin. As dogs swim, they tend to ingest more water than humans do causing a much larger amount of the neurotoxin to interact with the body of the dogs. “The issue is that they’re drinking right from the top, the way they lap up the water, they’re drinking right off the top of the surface, and that’s where you have the highest concentration, (Gates).” In addition, these dogs are at a larger risk due to their fur. The bacteria tends to get stuck on the fur of the dogs, leading to a bigger chance for the bacteria to be ingested. Humans are at a much lower risk, as we have skin as opposed to fur, and most of the time is spend on a kayak or paddleboard. However, people are still not without risks. There have been multiple health issues and hospitalizations that have occurred due to swimming in the area.
Not only are the people and pets affected by this bacteria, the wildlife in the area are also greatly affected. For most aquatic species, dissolved oxygen is necessary to survive. At most times cyanobacteria helps to produce oxygen, as it uses photosynthesis instead of cellular respiration and consumes phosphorus and nitrogen in the water. This allows dissolved oxygen in the oxygen to be produced and consumed at the same rate. However, as the bacteria continue to grow, more of the phosphorus and nitrogen are used up, causing massive amount of the bacteria to die. This death, leads to a severe decrease in the amount of oxygen that is available in the water, resulting in much of the oxygen dependent life to die as well. In addition, the large amount of bacteria in the water also cause species such as fish to suffocate as the bacteria gets stuck on their gills and other important appendages. If the blooms are not treated and left to continually grow, the whole ecosystem around the lake could also be in jeopardy.
What Can Be Done?
We need more support for water treatment in Austin. Treatment of this bacteria has only just started and needs much more support in order to ensure that Lady Bird Lake is safe. The City of Austin has finally increased the amount of tests being done throughout the year in order to monitor the water levels. However, these are only tests and will not solve the issue. Scientist like Bellinger have used experiments in order to try and predict when these blooms will happen in order to be prepared. By looking at patterns in past algal blooms, the City of Austin can put restrictions and warnings in place to. warn the citizens in the area. Other methods such as ultrasonic waves like the ones to help clean Echo Lake in New Jersey could also be used. These ultrasonic waves put a sound barrier on the surface of the water and have shown tremendously positive results in New Jersey, reducing the cyanobacteria levels by 70%–90%.
These tests show promising results, however a large amount of money needs to be allocated. The City of Austin is doing the best they can given the current budget to water quality. Heavily polluted parts of the lake, such as Red Bud Isle have been closed and the lake is currently being tested 9 times a year. Reports have indicated that there has been a large increase in the costs required to treat and test the waters in the area. The State of Texas has indicated that “Toxic algae costs the City of Austin up to $35,500” (Streicher) for extra tests needed to monitor and treat the lake. This is a good start, however, it still is not enough to solve the issue. For Echo Lake, $475,000 was needed to implement. These amounts do cost a hefty amount, however, the benefits outweigh the risks. The safety of the citizens, including pets, is one of the most important jobs of city officials and the quicker treatment methods are implemented, the less people will be in danger from these blooms. Another reason to begin addressing the treatment of Lady Bird Lake, can only make the City of Austin to look good in relation to other cities. If the water quality levels increase at a quick rate, Austin will start to be seen as a front runners in helping to solve this issue in other infected areas. By allocating more money to water treatment, the Lady Bird Lake could return to normal algae levels, and once again be safe enough to use. ”
There is no better time than right now to begin making changes to help treat the growing algal blooms in Lady Bird Lake. As Lady Bird Lake is in the center of Austin and impacts the lives of many citizens, the treatment of the water should be a big priority. The first start is to begin looking at the issue and allocate more money to get the algal level back to normal levels. This is imperative to ensure the safety of everyone using the lake. Help make Lady Bird Lake become the safe area it once was!
Sources
Anonymous. “Blue Green Algae and Cyanobacteria Best Management Plan: Canadianpond.” Canadianpond.ca, 23 Jan. 2015, canadianpond.ca/learn/algae-aquatic-weed-control/blue-green-algae-cyanobacteria/.
Bellinger, Brent J., et al. “Drought and Management Effects on Biophysicochemistry in a Rapidly-Flushed Reservoir.” Lake and Reservoir Management, vol. 34, no. 2, 2018, pp. 182–198., doi:10.1080/10402381.2017.1384770.
Bradshaw, Kelsey. “Austin Starts Weekly Monitoring of Lady Bird Lake for Harmful Algae.” Statesman, 10 July 2020, www.statesman.com/news/20200710/austin-starts-weekly-monitoring-of-lady-bird-lake-for-harmful-algae.
Gates, Billy, and Yoojin Cho. “Harmful Algae Detected around Red Bud Isle, City Warns Dog Owners about Risks.” KXAN Austin, KXAN Austin, 11 July 2020, www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/watershed-department-begins-weekly-blue-green-algae-testing-in-lady-bird-lake/
Hauser, Christine. “Algae Can Poison Your Dog.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 12 Aug. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/08/12/us/blue-green-algae-dogs.html.
Huber, Mary. “Owners Describe Last Moments of 3 Dogs Who Died after Visiting Texas Lake.” The Glen Rose Reporter, The Glen Rose Reporter, 9 Aug. 2019, www.yourglenrosetx.com/news/20190809/owners-describe-last-moments-of-3-dogs-who-died-after-visiting-texas-lake.
Metzger, Luke. “Texas Waterways Deserve Our Protection.” The Daily Texan, 23 Sept. 2018, thedailytexan.com/2018/09/23/texas-waterways-deserve-our-protection.
Perez, Pattrik. “‘I Love You for All of Time’: Woman Sends Warning When Dog Dies after Swimming in Lady Bird Lake.” Kiiitv.com, 7 Aug. 2019, www.kiiitv.com/article/news/local/i-love-you-for-all-of-time-woman-sends-warning-when-dog-dies-after-swimming-in-lady-bird-lake/269-978e420e-b095-4b71-9e0f-78ad40a5adcd.
Streicher, Brad Streicher. “Toxic Algae Cost the City of Austin up to $35,500.” Kvue.com, 17 Dec. 2019, www.kvue.com/article/news/investigations/defenders/austin-toxic-algae-test-cost/269-008fedae-823b-44dd-993d-dfe7b98c635c.
“Toxic Blue-Green Algae in Lady Bird Lake.” Parmer Lane Pet Hospital, 9 Aug. 2019, parmerlanepethospital.com/toxic-blue-green-algae-in-lady-bird-lake/
Wheeling, Kate. “Toxic Algal Blooms Are Worsening with Climate Change.” Eos, 13 Nov. 2019, eos.org/articles/toxic-algal-blooms-are-worsening-with-climate-change.
Zimmer, David. “Ultrasonic Waves Show Promise in Battle against Harmful Algae Blooms in Echo Lake.” North Jersey Media Group, NorthJersey.com, 11 Oct. 2020, www.northjersey.com/story/news/passaic/west-milford/2020/10/08/ultrasonic-waves-show-promise-against-algae-blooms-echo-lake/5925952002/.
