Cyanobacteria Around Bear Island
 

I was kayaking Saturday 6/25 and Sunday 6/26 from the area of the Carry along the shoreline to Church Cove and the cyanobacteria is really bad. Today it is floating on the surface. This is NOT pollen - we had that a few weeks ago. It's sad, but I have to keep my kids and dogs out of the lake - tough to do on a hot day. This is really early in the season for this - worried this might be a bad year for this.

If you happen to see any cyanobacteria where you are, you should report it to the NH Department of Environmental Services: HAB@des.nh.gov.

Go to https://www.des.nh.gov/water/healthy...body,%E2%80%8B for information on Cyanobacteria.

Cyanobacteria
 

Thank you for sharing!! In addition to contacting DES, the Lake Winnipesaukee Association is working toward tracking all cyanobacteria observations, alerts, and advisories in the Winnipesaukee watershed and would appreciate being notified as well. We are working with DES to collaborate and coordinate the collection and identification of cyanobacteria within the watershed. We may be available to come out and take a water sample if you suspect cyanobacteria. Although we do not have the capabilities to quantify the sample in the same way that DES does (which is how they issue an alert or advisory) we are able to potentially identify and confirm the presence of cyanobacteria. The ephemeral nature of cyanobacteria makes it imperative to collect a sample as soon as possible which is why we are assisting DES in these efforts.

DES today issued a cyanobacteria advisory for Lake Opechee. We have had a severe bloom at the north end of the lake over the last few days, and today DES tested and confirmed its presence . We are closing our Association beach for at least a week!

https://www4.des.state.nh.us/WaterShed_BeachMaps/

Cyanobacteria blooms
 

According to water quality experts, blooms of cyanobacteria are most common during July and August — but the season in New Hampshire lasts through September.

https://www.laconiadailysun.com/news...4fdc86109.html

Gloeotrichia
 

DES sent a message today about Gloeo sightings in several lakes, including Winni. Here’s the key info from their message:

Cyanobacteria are natural components of water bodies worldwide, though blooms and surface scums may form when excess nutrients are available to the water.

Oftentimes, these cyanobacteria (referring to Gloeo specifically) do not accumulate to large concentrations and may go unnoticed. These types of cyanobacteria do not typically form green surface scums, however they can quickly accumulate along shorelines and coves. The water may appear cloudy in areas of higher concentrations.

Be cautious of lake water that has a surface scum, changes colors, appears cloudy or has green streaks or blue-green flecks.

All summer I have had neighbors telling me there is cyanobacteria around Bear Island. One neighbor told me she witnessed cyanobacteria around my dock.

I keep going to the NHDES website on cyanobacteria and find no notices for Winni at all.

I just looked for the DES message about Winni mentioned in the last post. I can't find it.

The seems to be a disconnect here. Am I looking in the wrong place? Are we talking about different kinds of cyanobacteria?

Location Location location
 

You refer to "Key information" The key information for me would be the location and specific confirmation from DES. If you call, they will send somebody out to confirm.

To Filter or Not?
 

Your neighbor may be referring to the precursor to cyanobacteria "poisonous blue-green algae blooms", which are the gloeotrichia. Those are the tiny gray dots that come within easy view of the surface on warm and windless days In late summer.

As a sailor, I have many hours on Lake Winnipesaukee on warm, windless, days in late summer. ;) I can tell you gloeotrichia are easy to see and they're all over the lake.

At night, their natural buoyancy mechanism allows them to sink to deeper waters where they recharge their energy on Phosphorus.

Nobody's come right out and said it (yet) but all that Phosphorus has a common origin. :rolleye1:
.
One Maine organization is collecting gloeotrichia data by means of a smart-phone app:

https://www.raymondmaine.org/content/gloeotrichia

Gloeotrichia
 

The link to the DES page for the “sighting” is
https://www.des.nh.gov/news-and-medi...gloeotrichia-0

It is important to note that cyanobacteria is naturally occurring, and has always existed. Gloeotrichia is a Cyanobacteria. We have noticed it all over the lake for years, especially in the early fall. It looks like tiny greenish or yellow balls suspended in the water column, and it’s that suspension that distinguishes it from pollen that floats on the surface.

It becomes a problem, and a potential health risk, when it’s heavily concentrated in a “bloom.” This DES notice is merely a sighting of Gloeotrichia, not a notice of a dangerous bloom. There is no need for alarm; they are just advising caution if you see large concentrations of it. How do you know, practically speaking, what constitutes a large concentration? The only sure way is to call DES and ask them to come and get a sample for testing, but common sense dictates awareness and caution.

One more important Cyanobacteria fact - boiling water containing Cyanobacteria releases the toxins. Living on an island, lake water is pumped into our house. For many years, we used it for cooking pasta etc Out of caution, we don’t do that anymore.

Disclaimer - I am not an expert, just a person who has read up on this topic.😀

Just to be clear, gloeotrichia sighting is not a pre-cursor to a blue-green algae bloom. It is it’s own very special variety of Cyanobacteria which in very high concentrations forms a yellowish scum, but otherwise looks like tiny yellow/gray dots suspended at various levels under the water.

The Cyanobacteria spotted at Bear earlier this summer was not gloeotrichia, if I recall correctly, it was one of the more distinctly green varieties.

Sighting map here: https://www.winnipesaukee.org/weekly...oom-watch-map/

Images of Cyanobacteria here: https://www.winnipesaukee.org/wp-con...ance_FINAL.pdf

Hi Bear Islander,

The NHDES website only shows cyanobacteria advisories. Advisories are issued when cell counts exceed 70,000 cells/mL. The Lake Winnipesaukee Association is working to track all of the cyanobacteria observations that folks have reported to us (and NHDES) with our interactive tracking map. There is going to be an article in the Laconia Daily Sun this Saturday specifically focusing on Gloeotrichia.

https://www.winnipesaukee.org/how-we...ee/monitoring/

Hi APS,

Great information! The cyanobacteria Gloeotrichia tend to not form blooms, but they do congregate in coves and on shorelines through wind/wave action. Other cyanobacteria types found on Winni, such as Dolichispermum, can form those surface scums that you are referring to. Nutrients most definitely have a part to play in "feeding" these blooms! LWA was recently featured in a Laconia Daily Sun article where we state "Too much phosphorus entering our lake promotes the growth of algae and aquatic vegetation, just like it helps the growth of grass and gardens."

Cyanobacteria Map Updates
 

Yesterday, the LWA updated the Cyanobacteria tracking map to include the Gloeotrichia sightings that have been reported to us and NHDES. We also sent out this information to all those that are signed up to receive our email updates.

According to NHDES a certain background level is fine and should not be high risk for acute symptoms associated with cyanotoxins. A general rule of thumb is that if it looks like a starry night, that should be fine, but if it looks like a galaxy, consider staying out of the water. The attached picture is from Cow Island, with fairly high concentrations from 2 days ago.

Kids and pets are most at risk because the greatest route of exposure to cyanotoxins is through ingestion.

Unpredictable locations?
 

So according to accounts - the blooms occur when the water is warm (CHECK) and with high concentrations of phosphorous/nitrogen. Often as a result of lawn or stormwater runoff, or contaminants leaching from failed septic systems and pet waste.

What I find sort of strange is that the places it seems to pop up would not - at least in my mind - be the places expected. I mean the 2 locations flagged around Bear - not highly congested with homes or lawns for that matter. Bad septic systems?

Winter Harbor...Downwind from Cow Island...01SEP2022
 

While rebuilding our piling dock yesterday from formerly-unseen ice damage, I had ample time to check for gloeotrichia. On one occasion, a large and extremely dense concentration drifted by, illuminated by bright sun. (Which brought out their yellow coloration). This colony's movement was driven by our usual eastward "current", the weak breeze, and constant--but moderate in intensity--boat wakes. (These wakes generally favor eastward motion of "our" gloeotrichia).

About twenty minutes later, when I looked again, none could be seen. (Then with the sun blocked by deep shade from shoreline trees).

For the record, I haven't referred to natural scum of any kind. :confused:

Winter Harbor has its deepest spot just east of Johnson's Cove: Benthic algae is measured there. A small brook feeds into Johnson's Cove, which is fed by 100 acres of open grasslands growing on poor soil, which is mostly clay. Those 100 acres are irrigated daily by lake water sourced from (our now) Phosphorus-rich lakewater.

:rolleye1: