It’s no secret that the harmful algal bacteria that plagues the Finger Lakes annually are very partial to the chemical phosphorus. It’s better than junk food for HABs. It’s also pretty well understood that the phosphorus pouring into Seneca Lake comes from a wide variety of sources: agricultural runoff water from farms, vineyards, and orchards, plus runoff from fertilized lawns, commercial organic debris, and other sources.

There’s plenty of regional effort going into slowing down this HABs-encouraging chemical from getting into lake waters, with Seneca Lake Pure Waters Association among those leading the charge. Pure Waters also keeps close tabs on Seneca Lake HABs as the green slime appears when the weather warms up. I get notifications regularly from the organization’s HABs alert list.

I thought I was pretty well-informed about HABs — until last week, when I got a jolt listening to a Pure Waters HABs webinar (it’s available on the organization’s website). Only a tiny fraction........

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