 | | Colorful blooms of cyanobacteria, also called blue-green algae, paint the nearshore waters of Clear Lake, California’s second-largest freshwater lake. Toxin levels in the blooms broke records in this hot, dry summer. Photo courtesy of Frank Costner |
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| Toxin Levels Spike, Prompting Drinking Water Emergency in Northern California
Amid a withering drought, a severe harmful algal bloom in California’s second-largest freshwater lake is producing exceptionally high toxin levels, resulting in a drinking water emergency for hundreds of residents who draw water directly from Clear Lake. Lake County public health officials on September 15 notified about 280 households along the Lower and Oaks arms not to drink water from their private lake intakes. The warning, which could last a month or more, was issued after water samples from those areas showed astronomically high levels of the liver toxin microcystin. Surrounded by oak forests and rolling hills about 100 miles north of San Francisco, Clear Lake lives up to its name in the cooler months. In summer and fall, though, harmful algal blooms have plagued the lake for years, clogging the shores, emitting odors akin to sewage, and producing toxins. Local officials expected a bad summer, considering that water and weather conditions were ripe for explosive cyanobacteria growth. The outcome, though, has been far worse than they expected. |
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 | | Transmission lines in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, stretch to the horizon. Photo © J. Carl Ganter / Circle of Blue |
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| In Climate Talks, Plans to Keep Planet from Overheating Should Not Ignore Water
Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged on September 21 that his country would no longer finance coal-fired power plants abroad, making a high-profile commitment to move away from some forms of fossil fuel infrastructure less than six weeks before a pivotal global climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland.
While climate campaigners applauded the carbon-reducing benefits of fewer new coal plants, the move comes with another, less obvious dividend: less strain on water. Coal power, from mining to generation, is among the thirstiest and most polluting ways to produce electricity. Eliminating coal from the world’s energy mix is a no-brainer for climate policy and a win for water, as well as for human lungs. But as diplomats meet in Glasgow starting on October 31 to solidify plans to keep the planet from dangerously overheating, water experts say the negotiators need to keep more than carbon in mind. Some carbon-reducing energy options, if not well designed, can deplete rivers and pollute waterways. |
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 | | Flooding has long been a part of life in Ottawa, Illinois. Photo © Laura Gersony / Circle of Blue |
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| The Town that Flood-Proofed Itself
Ottawa, Illinois learned how to keep its residents out of harm’s way. But on the river’s edge, safety has often required sacrifice.
For 30 years, Dean Anderson’s home was his pride and joy. So deep was Anderson’s love for his home that he was willing to endure the floods that had long plagued the neighborhood, an area known in town as “the Flats.”
The city began offering to buy out homes in the Flats, using funding from FEMA, so that residents could relocate to safer areas. It wasn’t until 2000 that Anderson relented, concerned about the effects of contaminated floodwaters on his ailing wife’s health.
That buyout program marked the beginning of a decades-long flood management strategy in Ottawa. Those steps worked. Last year, the second-highest flood on record caused virtually no property damage citywide—a stark contrast to the devastation floods used to wreak.
But behind the town’s successes lie personal sacrifice. Today, settled into his new home further inland, the memory of Anderson’s life in the Flats makes his heart ache. “I miss it still,” he said.
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| What’s Up With Water – September 20, 2021
For the news you need to start the week, tune into “What’s Up With Water” fresh on Monday’s on iTunes, Spotify, iHeart Radio, and SoundCloud. Featured coverage from this week's episode of What's Up With Water looks at: - In Canada, an Indigenous community is celebrating the arrival of clean drinking water.
- Around the world, it was another deadly year for environmental activists.
- In the United States, the risk of flooding depends on a family’s ZIP code and its wealth.
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| From Circle of Blue's Archives: |
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 | | Formed some 2 million years ago at the intersection of three geologic faults, Clear Lake is a natural marvel, considered the oldest lake in North America. It is also the site of severe blooms of toxic cyanobacteria from June through November that obscure the water and are a risk to health and safety. Photo © Brett Walton / Circle of Blue |
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Clear Lake, about 100 miles north of San Francisco, is relatively shallow, warm and, by its nature, biologically productive. That’s why it’s known as one of the best bass fishing spots in the country. It’s also considered the oldest lake in North America, which means that algae have probably been present for some portion of its 2 million years. Indigenous groups have lived along the lake’s clean waters and fertile shores for some 12,000 years.
But over the last century and a half, Clear Lake’s ecological balance has come undone. White settlers planted orchards, dug mercury mines, and built homes and towns. In the process an estimated 85 percent of the lake’s nutrient-absorbing wetlands were destroyed.
Unimpeded flows of nitrogen and phosphorus tipped Clear Lake into hyperproductivity, or eutrophication. Algae and cyanobacteria blooms worsened in the 1970s, starting improving through the 1990s, and now are as extensive as any in generations.
This piece is part of a collaboration that includes the Institute for Nonprofit News, California Health Report, Center for Collaborative Investigative Journalism, Circle of Blue, Columbia Insight, Ensia, High Country News, New Mexico In Depth and SJV Water. It was made possible by a grant from The Water Desk, with support from Ensia and INN’s Amplify News Project.
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