Task force studies bloom of algae

Friday, March 30, 2001 | 10:35 a.m.

Nevada environmental officials on Thursday formed a task force to study a large, green algae bloom blanketing Las Vegas Bay.

The algae, a nontoxic scum, began growing on the surface of the bay in February, Tom Porta, chief of the state's Bureau of Water Quality Planning, said. It has extended more than three miles south in Lake Mead, he told the Lake Mead Water Quality Forum meeting Thursday in Las Vegas.

"It's probably one of the most significant outbreaks in years," Porta said.

Boaters have complained about the green stuff sticking to their hulls.

Gail Kaiser, owner of Las Vegas Bay Marina, alerted the state to the problem.

There is no public health threat from the algae, and although it is an eyesore, it has a purpose in the ecosystem: It feeds fish in the lake, experts said.

Normal algae blooms, while not common in desert water, generally occur on the bay in late March or early April -- if they do happen. This year's variety started almost a month early, Porta said.

Although no one condition can account for the algae, some contributing factors are warmer temperatures, high levels of nutrients, such as phosphorous flowing into the bay, and calm winds.

Since the algae could last for weeks or months, representatives of the National Park Service, the state Division of Environmental Protection, the Southern Nevada Water Authority and the Nevada Division of Wildlife will monitor the bloom, Porta said.

Even if the bloom lasts for months, it's not enough to kill fish, Lake Mead expert Jim LaBounty said.

The last big major bloom was in April 1997 -- a red algae, known as a "red tide," caused by a single-celled organism, with a whip-like tail, called a dinoflagellate.

Another type of algae, the blue-green variety, can produce toxins that could harm fish, but scientists say there is no record of that algae having ever taken root in Lake Mead, LaBounty said.