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Michigan steps up fight against harmful algal blooms in western Lake Erie

July 03, 2025

By mid-summer nearly every year, tiny organisms present a huge challenge in western Lake Erie.

Runaway blooms of cyanobacteria, commonly known as blue-green algae, spread in the lake’s warm, shallow waters, threatening other aquatic life and impacting a source of drinking water for more than 11 million people in the U.S. and Canada.

Lake Erie surf churns up green algae. Lake Erie surf churns up algae. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecasts a mild to moderate harmful algal bloom (HAB) season for western Lake Erie. Photo courtesy of City of Luna Pier.

In May, the State of Michigan updated its Domestic Action Plan (DAP) for combating harmful algal blooms (HABs). The plan contains measures to reduce phosphorus runoff by a sustained 40% from a 2008 baseline measurement by targeting nutrient-rich releases from wastewater treatment plants and phosphorus runoff from farm fields and fertilized lawns.

Phosphorus in fertilizers and manure is an essential nutrient for plant growth in the western Lake Erie Basin (WLEB), but rains and floods can carry it into the lake, where it feeds HABs. These HABs deplete oxygen in the lake, which creates dead zones that damage ecosystems and local economies. They can also produce toxins harmful to people and wildlife.

The State of Michigan is pursuing these strategies under the DAP to reduce the phosphorus that feeds HABs in Lake Erie:

  • Continued work with WLEB communities to tighten sewage treatment facility permits. The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy’s (EGLE) Water Resources Division has developed a plan to lower phosphorus limits in the U.S. National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits for all major wastewater treatment plants in the WLEB, along with a new guidebook to help operators meet these targets.
  • A new Soil Health Investment Program in partnership with conservation districts in Michigan’s Hillsdale, Lenawee, Monroe, and Washtenaw counties.
  • Partnerships for agricultural conservation to help attain the full 40% phosphorus reduction target, which will require progress controlling nonpoint and agricultural sources of pollution.
  • Regenerative agriculture principles and practices that reduce nutrient loss, mitigate impacts of extreme weather, and prioritize market-driven agricultural diversity that can power rural communities.
  • Expanded water quality monitoring.
  • Online modeling through the Great Lakes Watershed Management System.
  • The DAP Team partnering with the University of Michigan (UM) Water Center and the Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation to form the WLEB Community Advisory Group, which represents rural communities, agricultural service providers, environmental organizations, equity advocates, water utilities, municipal governments, and lake and coastal businesses.
  • Work by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR), conservation group Ducks Unlimited, and partners to restore more than 300 acres of wetlands in the Stony Creek and South Branch River Raisin watersheds.

The updated DAP was a focal point of Michigan’s 2025 State of the Western Lake Erie Basin Conference June 26 in Adrian, Michigan. The conference drew conservation districts; watershed councils; federal, local, and state officials; researchers; engineers; farmers; and community members to talk about progress toward nutrient reduction goals.

EGLE Director Phil Roos addresses the 2025 State of the Western Lake Erie Basin Conference in Adrian, Mich. EGLE Director Phil Roos addresses the 2025 State of the Western Lake Erie Basin Conference in Adrian, Mich.

The conference builds on a years-long effort to cultivate a WLEB community, foster trust, and generate input for the DAP through presentations, panels, question-and-answer sessions, networking, and discussion groups. Partners met for the first State of the Western Lake Erie Basin Conference in December 2023, and steady progress has continued ever since.

In March 2024, Advisory Group members weighed in on the initial draft DAP through letters and review sessions that helped the DAP Team reframe language, add clarifications, and fill gaps.

In June 2024, the Advisory Group met with agency staff and researchers involved in DAP projects to learn and provide feedback on efforts related to soil health testing, database management, and WLEB-related outreach.

Total phosphorus loads in the basin are down by nearly 23%, exceeding a 20% aspirational goal for the basin, largely due to point source reductions. At the Great Lakes Water Authority’s Water Resource Recovery Facility, for example, phosphorus loads dropped by more than half, from 764 metric tons in 2008 to an average of 362 metric tons between 2018 and 2022.

Senior managers in EGLE, DNR, and the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) will continue to review and revise the DAP regularly based on progress and changing needs.  The UM Water Center, DAP Team, and Advisory Group will continue to collaborate on outreach about state efforts to plan and implement DAP programs and projects.

For more information on the DAP update and Michigan’s actions in the WLEB, visit Michigan.gov/MDARD-WLEB.

Adapted and updated from an article by Michelle Selzer, Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, and Alison Bressler, University of Michigan Water Center, in the 2024 Michigan State of the Great Lakes Report.

Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy Water Resources MI Environment Water quality and resources

Media Contact:

MI Environment Team

EGLE-Assist@Michigan.gov

517-284-9278

Author:

Jeff Johnston

EGLE Public Information Officer

JohnstonJ14@Michigan.gov

517-231-9304

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