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Lake Champlain Committee News Update

Cyanobacteria Monitoring Report

In sun and rain, heat and cold, monitors collectively filed over 2,700 reports during the 2021 season. In the links and photographs below you’ll find our last weekly report compilation for 2021; see a late season bloom at Arnold’s Bay; learn what a difference a day can make; view water samples of cyanobacteria and clear water conditions; witness beach beauty, autumn glow at Isle LaMotte, late season lake beauty, and a Lake Memphremagog sunset; and catch the LCC Team raising a glass as we close out the 2021 monitoring season. 

Click on the links below to get directly to the following sections:

While we are wrapping up monitoring for 2021, the Lake Champlain Committee’s work for clean, accessible water continues year-round. Please continue to stay involved as the weather cools and snow falls. Your testimony at hearings, letters to policy makers, and discussions with family and friends can have a meaningful impact on the health of our waterways. If you’d like to help us expand monitoring coverage on Lake Champlain or an inland lake next year, or are interested in taking a training for educational purposes please email LCC Executive Director Lori Fisher at lorif@lakechamplaincommittee.org.

We wish you wonderful holidays whatever and wherever you celebrate and a healthy winter. We will be back in your email inbox next spring as we gear up for the 2022 monitoring season!

Thanks as always for caring about water,

The Lake Champlain Committee 2021 Cyanobacterial Monitoring Team

LCC 2021 Cyanobacteria Monitoring Program Team
LCC’s Cyanobacteria Monitoring Team includes from left to right: Lori Fisher, Executive Director; Lindsey Carlson, Aquatic Field Assistant; Jean Elizabeth Shockley, Office Manager; and Emily DeAlto, ECO AmeriCorps Education & Outreach Coordinator.
Photos by Ben Rose, Sarah Bartlett, Jean Elizabeth Shockley, and Lindsey Carlson. © Lake Champlain Committee.
What is Cyanobacteria?
Cyanobacteria are microorganisms that naturally occur in lakes and have existed on earth for millions of years. They live in diverse environments and can be found in both fresh and salt water, in soils and on rocks. Under the right conditions in water they can form large accumulations and surface scums referred to as blooms. Some types produce toxins which release into the water when cyanobacteria die and break down. The toxins can present a potential hazard to people and pets. However, not all cyanobacteria produce toxins, and even those species that can produce toxins do not do so in all instances. You cannot tell by looking at a bloom whether or not toxins are present. Specialized tests are required to tell whether a particular bloom actually contains toxins.Cyanobacteria thrive in water that has high amounts of nutrients like phosphorus and nitrogen. They can multiply quickly to form dense populations especially during warm, still days. Shallow, nutrient-enriched areas such as Lake Champlain’s Missisquoi Bay and St. Albans Bay, are more vulnerable to blooms, but they can show up anywhere. Cyanobacteria are not visible to the naked eye individually but they can form colonies and look like tiny fuzzy balls, streaks and striations, pea soup or spilled paint. They can make the water look blue-green, dark or bright green, turquoise and can also appear as white, brown, red or purple.While cyanobacteria are sometimes called blue-green algae, they are not a type of algae but actually photosynthetic bacteria. They derive their energy through photosynthesis.
Bloom Sightings from Weeks 20 & 21 
Blooms showed up at a scattering of locations during the end of monitoring season including US Coast Guard Access Ramp on 11/10/21 (top left) and Oakledge Park’s South Cove Beach on 11/9/21 (bottom left) both in Burlington, VT; Arnold Bay in Panton, VT on 11/4/21 (top right) and 11/5/21 (bottom middle); and at Red Rocks Park in South Burlington, VT on 11/9/21 (bottom right).
Learn More About Cyanobacteria
Check out the Lake Champlain Committee (LCC) website for more information about cyanobacteria. Use the resources at the links below to help you learn how to identify blooms so you’ll be ready for water recreation next summer.Educational Resources
 Late Season Bloom at Arnold Bay
Blooms have plagued Arnold Bay in Panton off and on throughout the 2021 season and have still shown up in the fall as depicted above all taken on the afternoon of 11/4/21.
Reporting Guidance

This comprehensive document includes background information, monitoring guidelines, how-to directions, visuals of cyanobacteria, and much more! You can easily navigate to each section of the toolkit via the linked table of contents. It’s a helpful resource to learn about cyanobacteria.
VDH Public Cyanobacteria Tracker
Cyanobacteria Tracker
VDH Cyanobacteria Tracker
Once vetted, monitor reports show up on the Cyanobacteria Tracker housed on the Vermont Department of Health (VDH) website. Reports are added on a daily basis during the monitoring season and are accessible to anyone with an internet connection. Monitor reports are indicated by green (generally safe), yellow (low alert) and red (high alert) dots on the tracker map. You can even see pictures of bloom conditions to help you recognize cyanobacteria!

  • Click on a dot and a dropdown box will show you reporting results. If photos were included with the report they will be listed under “Attachments” and are accessible by clicking on them. Reports generally remain on the tracker for 14 days.
  • You can zoom into a site and click on the dot and toggle between recent reports by using the white arrow in the top right corner. Note that while the dot color indicates the water conditions from the most recent report, the dropdown box doesn’t always show the most recent report or provide the reports in sequence. The black bar across the top of the box shows how many reports have recently been submitted for that site. Click on the arrows to move through all the reports and find the most recent one.
  • Click on the arrow tab  at the bottom of the map to pull up the report table which lists all the reports received. You can sort it by different parameters by clicking on the column heading.
    • Zoom to a location you are interested in and then click “Filter by map extent” in the upper left hand of the table to see all of the reports that have been reported in that map area. If you double click on one of the reports, it will zoom you to where it was and provide information in a popup box.
Difference in a Day
South Cove Beach at Burlington’s Oakledge Park had a low alert bloom on 11/9/21 but it had dissipated on 11/10/21 when wind and waves kicked up.
Weeks 20 & 21 2021 Monitoring Results | 10/31 – 11/12/21
The information below represents the results from Sunday, October 31 through 3:15 PM on Friday, November 12, 2021. Generally safe conditions are shown in green, low alerts in yellow and high alerts in red.  Check the cyanobacteria data tracker for the most recent reports, but be aware of changing conditions and that the list below and the information on the tracker is based on the latest monitoring reports, not current conditions. You will find lots of resources below to help you identify cyanobacteria. Please learn how to recognize it, assess conditions and report them so you can recreate safely.Lake Champlain Monitoring Sites – 61 reports were received from around the lake during the last two weeks of the 2021 season. Blooms occurred in the Main Lake Central and Main Lake South so we extended monitoring at select locations for another week until all sites came back with reports of “generally safe” conditions. Further details are in the section write-ups below. Lake Champlain Beaches – State and municipal beaches no longer have on site staff checking conditions with any regularity and most sites are “recreate at your own risk” at this time of year. Sites are generally no longer signed when there is a bloom and state and municipal websites generally will not have up to date information on conditions this late in the season. There is no central reporting location for Lake Champlain beach closures.The following lake regions experienced generally safe conditions:

  • Inland Sea | Generally safe conditions were observed for 7 of the 7 reports
  • Main Lake Central | Generally safe conditions were observed for 40 of the 45 reports
  • Main Lake North | Generally safe conditions were observed for 3 of the 3 reports
  • Main Lake South | Generally safe conditions were observed for 2 of the 4 reports
  • Missisquoi Bay | Generally safe conditions were observed for 2 of the 2 reports

The following lake regions experienced low alert conditions

  • Main Lake Central | Alert level conditions were observed for 5 of the 45 reports
    • Low alert conditions were observed at Oakledge Park South Cove in Burlington, VT on Lake Champlain on 11/9/2021
    • Low alert conditions were observed at Red Rocks Beach in Burlington, VT on Lake Champlain on 11/9 and 11/11/2021
    • Low alert conditions were observed at the US Coast Guard Boat Docks in Burlington, VT on Lake Champlain on 11/10 and 11/11/2021
  • Main Lake South | Alert level conditions were observed for 2 of the 4 reports
    • Low alert conditions were observed at Arnold Bay in Panton, VT on Lake Champlain on 11/4 and 11/5/2021

VT Inland Waterbodies

The following waterbodies experienced generally safe conditions:

  • Joes Pond | 2 reports
  • Lake Carmi | 3 reports
  • Lake Memphremagog | 7 reports

The following waterbodies experienced low alert conditions:

  • Lake Memphremagog | 2 reports
    • Low alert conditions were observed on 11/7 and 11/8/2021

People recreating in or around Lake Champlain’s Main Lake Central and Main Lake South should watch for changing conditions and report and avoid cyanobacteria.
Beach Beauty
Monitoring reinforces never to take clear, clean water for granted. We love the special beauty of crystal-clear water on any day and in any season. The scenes above are from (left to right) Leddy Park on 11/9/21, Triangle Beach on 11/5/21 and 11/10, and Oakledge Park’s South Cove on 11/5/21 all in Burlington, VT.
New York Inland Lakes
Blooms have been confirmed in locations around the state but not necessarily during early November. Check with beach or local health authorities for current conditions but know that most locations are no longer staffed and reporting or posting conditions at this time of year. New York uses the Lake Champlain Cyanobacteria Tracker Map housed on the VT Dept. of Health (VDH) website for reporting bloom conditions on Lake Champlain. Information for all other New York waterbodies that are monitored can be found through the links below:

Once you click on the link, click on “OK” in the righthand corner of your screen to get to the map.) Click on a dot to learn the details of the site reports. Some of the reports include photos so it’s a helpful resource for recognizing cyanobacteria. The site is generally updated at least weekly except late in the season. A turquoise dot encircled in black indicates cyanobacteria reports within the last two weeks. A plain turquoise dot indicates archived cyanobacteria reports from more than two weeks ago but during the 2021 season.

Quebec
Autumn Glow at Isle LaMotte Boat Launch
Cool temperatures, fallen leaves, and quiet serenity are some of the benefits of monitoring late into the season as shown in the pictures above from Holcomb Boat Launch on Lake Champlain.
Vermont Drinking Water Facilities Report
For the seventh summer in a row, the VT Dept. of Health and VT Dept. of Env. Conservation collaborated to conduct cyanotoxin analysis of raw and finished water for the 22 Lake Champlain-sourced public drinking water systems. The tests began in July and ran for twelve weeks, ending in late September. There were no cyanotoxin detections for either raw or finished water at any of the participating drinking water facilities for weeks one through four and weeks six through ten of the testing. During week five and again during week 12, the Thompson Point Association in Charlotte, VT had a detection in their raw water sample (but not the finished water). However, follow-up testing indicated that raw and finished water samples were below the VT Drinking Water Advisory level for Microcystin 0.16 μg/L. During weeks 11 and 12, Microcystin was detected in Alburgh Village’s raw water samples but not in their finished water samples. Repeat sampling for both raw and finished water were continued the following week.
Late Season Lake Beauty
Just as blooms can sink our spirits, a view like the one above from Burlington’s Leddy Beach on 11/9/21 can lift them.
What To Do If You See A Bloom

  • Report it using LCC’s online form.
  • Click here for how to assess conditions.
  • Click here for guidance on taking a water sample and photographing blooms.
  • Avoid contact with the water in the area of the bloom.
  • If you’ve been in contact with a bloom, rinse and shower thoroughly as soon as possible.
  • Keep people (especially children) and pets out of the water.
  • Do not drink, prepare food, cook or make ice or brush your teeth with untreated lake water regardless of whether or not there is a bloom.
  • Don’t use the water from private intakes where a bloom occurs. Cyanobacteria and their toxins are not removed with in-home water treatment systems, or by boiling water or disinfecting with chlorine, ultraviolet light (UV), or other treatment. Boiling water or disinfection can make things worse by causing cells to burst, potentially releasing toxins.
  • See a doctor if someone gets ill after exposure to a cyanobacteria bloom and have them report bloom-related illnesses to the health department.

When collecting a water sample to photograph, take care to avoid exposure to cyanobacteria. Wear gloves, don’t wade or immerse yourself in the water and wash any exposed portions of your body immediately after collecting the sample.
Sunset on Lake Memphremagog
The happy glow on Lake Memphremagog as we close out the 2021 season.
What Happens to the Data?
Monitoring data is vetted by LCC and our partners at Vermont Department of Health (VDH) and Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (VT DEC) before being added to the Cyanobacteria Tracker map housed on the VDH website. Check the map throughout the season for data on the Lake Champlain sites, as well as several inland lakes.The tracker will remain live for another few weeks and then go dormant until the 2022 season. The vast majority of information provided on the site comes through LCC’s cyanobacteria monitoring program. It’s a clear illustration of the critical role community science volunteers play in assessing lake conditions. The weekly reports are also provided to public health, environmental and recreation agencies, and interested community members. Data from the program was used in the 2021 State of the Lake Report released earlier this year.Email LCC Executive Director Lori Fisher at lorif@lakechamplaincommittee.org if you’re interested in joining our dedicated monitoring crew for the 2022 season.Please pass on this link to anyone you think might be interested in signing up to receive our weekly emails which will resume in June of 2022..
Week 20 & 21 Water Samples of Cyanobacteria
While blooms are more common—and we have more eyes on the water—during the warmer periods of the year, they can still show up in the cooler months. Some of the water samples from weeks 20 and 21 of the monitoring season are shown above. You’ll find location and date details in the sample cards.
Spreading the Word
As someone who cares about water, please help spread awareness about the risks of cyanobacteria and actions to take. Your outreach builds a more informed and engaged community. No one should drink untreated lake water, regardless of whether or not there is a bloom. If you draw water from the lake and suspect a bloom near your intake, don’t drink, cook, wash dishes, brush your teeth or shower with the water. Boiling water doesn’t destroy cyanotoxins and can release them into the air.Blooms are caused by a combination of warm water temperatures and high concentrations of nutrients in the water, particularly phosphorus. Reducing the supply of nutrients is key to reducing blooms. Please continue to take actions around your home and workplace and advocate for stringent controls to protect water quality. Learn more about lake issues in the 2021 State of the Lake Report.
Clear Water Conditions as the Season Closes
Monitors also captured clear water conditions as we closed out the 2021 monitoring season as shown in the jar sample photos above from (left to right and top to bottom): Leddy Beach in Burlington, VT; King’s Bay Fishing Access in North Hero, VT; North Beach in Burlington, VT; Shipyard in Highgate Springs, VT; Triangle Beach in Burlington, VT; and Graveyard Point in North Hero, VT.
LCC Monitoring Program Funders & Partners
The Lake Champlain Committee (LCC) initiated the cyanobacteria monitoring program for Lake Champlain in 2003 to raise awareness, build a database of information on bloom frequency, and identify and publicize any potential health hazards. The information gathered helps us better understand the triggers for blooms and aid in the work to reduce their frequency.We annually train hundreds of community members in methods to assess and report on water conditions. We also conduct trainings for state and municipal park staff, town health officers and public water supply operators. LCC monitors provide important data on lake health from more than 200 Lake Champlain and inland lake locations. Sign up to become a monitor or take a training to learn how to recognize cyanobacteria via this online form.The program is funded by LCC members and the Lake Champlain Basin Program. Key program partners include the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, Vermont Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation, Vermont Department of Health, New York Department of Environmental Conservation, New York Department of Health, the Lake Champlain Basin Program, New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission, and the University of Vermont Rubenstein Ecosystem Science Lab.Click here to become a member or make a special donation in support of LCC’s work for clean, accessible water.
Until Next Year!
The cyanobacteria monitoring program wouldn’t exist without our dedicated volunteers. LCC Team members raise a (water sample) glass to monitors and extend our deep appreciation to everyone who has reported on conditions during this busy 2021 season (left to right and top to bottom): Lori Fisher, Executive Director; Lindsey Carlson, Aquatic Field Assistant; Jared Carpenter, Water Protection Advocate; Jean Elizabeth Shockley, Office Manager; and Emily DeAlto, ECO AmeriCorps Education & Outreach Coordinator.  Email lorif@lakechamplaincommittee.org if you’d like to help monitor during the 2022 season

Posted: November 13th, 2021 under Environmental News, General News, Lake Champlain News, Northern NY News.

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