BUFFALO, N.Y. — The issue over what to do to combat toxic algae blooms in Chautauqua lake will be the subject of a virtual town hall meeting later this month.
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) will hold the session on Tuesday, July 28 at 6 PM.
At that time, they will share with the public information about an new pilot program aimed at combating the invasive species. The study involves using innovative equipment to skim the blooms off the lake and convert the material into useable bioenergy and fertilizer. During the process, treated water is cleaned, clarified, and safely returned to the lake.
"The HABITATS research project is developing a capability to remove and efficiently dispose of large quantities of algal biomass, and entrained nutrients, which may someday help protect ecosystems and communities from HAB events," said Dr. Martin Page, material engineer at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s Construction Engineering Research Laboratory and HABITATS project manager. "By recovering resources in the process, the positive environmental impacts are achieved with reduced operations costs and footprint. Those aspects are key to developing a truly scalable tool that can be used by stakeholders as part of a broader strategy to mitigate HABs."
The algae bloom problem in Chautauqua Lake has been a problem for several years now, especially during the late summer months according to the DEC.
Click here for more details and to register to take part in the virtual session.
