Tag Archives: blue-green algae blooms

Dairy farms taking a toll on Great Lakes, waterways

On an August weekend in 2009, campers in the Port Huron State Game Area began to realize there was something terribly wrong with the Black River. They were finding dead fish floating on the river’s surface. Eventually, the cause of the fish kill was traced to an excessive application of liquid cow manure at Noll Dairy Farm in Croswell. State officials said the discharge affected more than 20 miles of the river and killed about 218,000 fish. With blue-green algae blooms becoming a part of summer in Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair, concern is growing that nutrients — including those from cow manure and from large operations with more than 700 milk-producing animals — could be a long-term problem as farmers look for places to put cow waste. Read the rest here 10:29