State to seek aid to study algae

Friday, July 20, 2001 | 9:36 a.m.

Nevada water officials plan to ask the federal government for help to study the largest green algae bloom in Lake Mead's 66-year history.

Both scientific research and federal funding is necessary to determine why the algae bloom, which was expected to die two months ago, has persisted from the Virgin River to Hoover Dam, Lake Mead Water Quality Forum members said Thursday.

The forum plans to ask for thousands of dollars for research into a common green algae -- pyramichlamys dicecta -- that does not pose a public health threat, Tom Porta, state Bureau of Water Quality Planning director, said.

There is no danger from the algae to boaters, swimmers or those drinking Lake Mead's water, which supplies 85 percent of Southern Nevada residents. However, if a blue-green algae that produces toxins forms in the lake fish could be affected, officials said.

The forum could request between $50,000 to $100,000 in federal funding through Nevada's congressional delegation as soon as next month. The money would fund the study, which would be conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Research and Development, which is equipped to probe the algae bloom, Porta said. "At this point, I don't know the exact figure," he said.

Porta leads a state task force that has studied the algae, which has been growing in the 66-year-old lake since May.

When the task force sought scientific reports on the particular algae species, only one paper was found -- in German. "We had to have it translated," Porta said. The algae is so common that no one studies it, he said. Most of the time it floats in Lake Mead's waters and is invisible to the naked eye.

Possible causes for the continuing bloom include too much food from dissolved phosphorous and nitrogen, mild water temperatures, lower lake levels or higher nutrients from sediments.

Finding the source of the algae bloom can't come soon enough for Gail Kaiser, whose family owns and operates the Las Vegas Bay Marina.

Boaters have complained of green stains on their bows and a plume of mud is moving closer to the marina.