DEQ, & KUTV. (n.d.). Algal Bloom spreads in Utah Lake, public warned to avoid area. Retrieved July 2, 2018, from http://kutv.com/news/local/algal-bloom-spreads-in-utah-lake-public-warned-to-avoid-area

 

Algal blooms in Utah have caused quarantines in Provo Bay, Lincoln Marina, Sandy Beach, and Utah Lake State Park. Eric Edwards, the Deputy Director of Utah County Health Department, says that the public must be aware of the conditions in the lake so that they know to avoid it until the bloom is sorted out. LM, SB, and ULSP all have toxin levels that exceed the recreational threshold. The bloom was caused by cyanobacteria which, in warm climates with sunlight, and nutrient heavy water, can reproduce rapidly.

 

This relates to environmental science since the cyanobacteria that caused the algal bloom can be researched to explore possibilities that prevent them from taking over bodies of water. If people can’t use the water, that means that animals for which the lake and possibly the fish in it are part of the ecosystem are screwed over. It’s possible that they aren’t able to adapt, and thus we lose another species to the endangered list. Now, one lake may not cause that, but if the world allows these blooms to keep happening then several ecosystems will be ruined. Humanity needs to take preventative measures to save other animals and themselves.