6 Easy Things YOU Can Do To Prevent Algal Blooms

Algal blooms are a serious issue in most bodies of waters near urban areas. Here are some things you can do to lessen your contribution to nutrient loads in the body of water near you!

1. Avoid using fertilizers that contain phosphates

Via garden.lovetoknow.com

Studies have shown that the average lawn is never short of phosphorous, so adding traditional combined nitrogen/phosphorous fertilizers isn’t making your lawn any greener and is putting more phosphorous into the lake. If you must use a fertilizer, making sure it's nitrogen-only can stop your phosphorous load and reduce your contribution to algal blooms in a lake near you!

2. Plant a buffer strip if you live close to a body of water

Via usga.org

If you live on the shore, any and all fertilizers that include phosphorous you treat your lawn with will run right into the lake. Putting any type of buffer strip before the end of the shoreline will absorb the nutrients, plus a nice garden near the shore looks great from the lawn!

3. Reduce the amount of water that runs off into the lake in the first place!

Via robertsroofingcontractors.com

Water runoff causes nutrients in the soil to be carried straight into the lake, so reducing the amount of water running over the nutrient-rich soil can cut down your nutrient load. Converting your roof to a green roof will allow rainfall to be taken out of the system and put to good use!

4. If you're a farmer, have a buffer strip between a field and a stream

Via yourcatchment.hutton.ac.uk

Farmers can reduce the amount of nutrients they contribute to bodies of water by having at least 20 feet of natural grass between their fields and the streams.

5. Stop winter spreading of manure

Via mychamplain.net

When the ice melts off the fields in the spring, the nutrients from all the manure wash off with it right into nearby bodies of water. Finding new ways to fertilize crops will lessen the impact of nutrient pollution.

6. Do soil tests!

Via plotspike.com

Actually test the nutrient levels in the soils before you fertilize them! It is an incredibly easy way to be more efficient and less wasteful, and gives you a better idea what your soil needs.