Is Lady Bird Lake Still Safe?
Lake Bird Lake has always been used as a recreational area for fun. People from all over the city come to use this area and swim, kayak, paddleboard, or even to hang out. However, in recent years, the water may have become unsafe. The recent hot summers and droughts along with fertilizer runoff in the area have resulted in a large increase blooms of a type of bacteria called cyanobacteria. This type of blue-green alga produces toxins that are harmful for not only humans, but to the whole surrounding environment. In recent years, there have been an increase the number health issues in humans as well as dogs in the area. The City of Austin is working hard to help combat these algal blooms; however, they do not seem to be disappearing anytime soon.
What is Cyanobacteria?
Cyanobacteria is a type of blue-green algae that contain their own 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.
Who Is Affected?
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.
One such example, came from my own experiences. As a student and dog owner attending the University of Texas At Austin, I used to hang out at Lady Bird Lake. My dog and I used to spend many hours in this areas with friends and their dogs, however, that is currently that is no longer a possibility. During one of our routine visits to the lake, my dog went to fetch a ball that had fallen into the lake. Soon after, my dog started to vomit and had trouble walking. I immediately rushed her to the hospital and 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. Thankfully after those long hours of waiting, a nurse came to me and told me that my dog was going to be fine. Following this we had a short talk where I finally learned about this cyanobacteria. The nurse explained to me what the bacteria was and the effects it has on dogs. This event started my interest in this bacteria.
Water treatment companies and the City of Austin are also affected as they have to spend a lot of money in order to test and treat this water with increased algal blooms. 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 the extra tests needed to monitor and treat the lake. Along with this drastic increase in money, the City still plans to allocate more money to the tests and treatment of this water. However, this does mark the start of the City of Austin working towards the treatment of this issue. Renown scientists such as Brent Bellinger have stated that “We want to make sure that it’s still a resource that people can interact with and can utilize without having to worry or feel fear for any illness, (Bellinger)” indicating that even with the increased costs, the City of Austin is trying to find ways in order to mitigate this issue.
Not only are the people 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.
What is Being Done to Help With This Bacteria?
Treatment of this bacteria has only just started. As mentioned above, the City of Austin has increased the amount of tests being done throughout the year in order to monitor the water levels. These tests have led to many ideas on how to help clean the water. Scientist like Bellinger have used experiments in order to try and predict when these blooms will happen in order to be prepared. Other scientists have used these tests in order to propose ways of removing invasive species that are connected to these bacteria. These tests show promising results, however due to the dramatic increase in costs, and the recent start to the tests, it may be a while before Lady Bird Lake is safe to use once again. For now, the city is closing waterways that have unsafe levels of cyanobacteria. “Red Bud Isle was shut down Aug. 7, 2019, and caution signs were posted in areas with algae (Bradshaw).” Even groups
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Work Cited
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.
Metzger, Luke. “Texas Waterways Deserve Our Protection.” The Daily Texan, 23 Sept. 2018, thedailytexan.com/2018/09/23/texas-waterways-deserve-our-protection.
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.
“Toxi Blue-Green Algae in Lady Bird Lake.” Parmer Lane Pet Hospital, 9 Aug. 2019, parmerlanepethospital.com/toxic-blue-green-algae-in-lady-bird-lake/
