Real Talk!

Cottage values in Quebec are falling as warnings have been issued on some 80 waterways in the Province that are infested with green-blue algae called Cyanobacteria. Releasing toxins that may cause serious headache, sore throat, abdominal pain, itchy eyes, skin rash, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, Cyanobacteria can adversely affect the liver and central nervous system.

High levels of phosphates and other nutrients are being blamed for the infestation. Poor farming practices, out-dated sewage systems, certain soaps, hot temperatures and deforestation have also contributed to the outbreak.

Cyanobacteria are actually a “prokaryotes”, a division of bacteria that obtain energy via photosynthesis- not really algae. Fossil traces of this critter have been discovered from almost 4 billion years back. A substantial biomass of Cyanobacteria is called a bloom and when the massive bloom can be seen floating at the surface, we call it surface-scum or pond-scum.

A single-celled species, Cyanobacteria form in colonies. Colonies may survive in almost any habitat, from lakes to rock or soil. They may appear as hollow balls, filaments or sheets and parts of the biomass can break away and travel to form new colonies. Just because you can’t see Cyanobacteria, it doesn’t mean it isn’t present in the water.

Some researchers suggest that between 30% and 50% of blooms are harmless and some are concerned that the Quebec frenzy is unnecessary. However, officials with Quebec’s Environment Dept say that the spread of blue-green algae is at crisis proportion.

In a press release, dated September of 2006, the Quebec S.O.S. Water Coalition- Eau Secours! said that two out of three watersheds in the Saint-Laurence Valley had “higher than normal levels of phosphates” and in some cases, “up to five times higher”.

In October of 2006, Andre Bouthillier (of the Coalition) told CBC news that “the Government has known the problem for the last thirty years and has been paying for studies on the issue”. Bouthillier called for a Government plan of action and predicted the outbreak would worsen and attempts to manage it would prove more difficult over time.

In 2000, the Environment Canada conducted a study of three southwestern Quebec watersheds to detect the presence of blue-green algae and their toxins. Water samples were taken at four main sites, from July through September of that year. Their results revealed that the concentration of toxins did not pose a “significant risk”. The report, available online (Primarily in French) does mention that results could “vary from year to year depending on climatic and environmental conditions”.

Unfortunately, without laboratory analysis, you cannot differentiate which blooms are toxic and which are not. You cannot detect the presence of toxins by way of colour or odour or taste and boiling contaminated water will not remove the toxins. In some areas of Quebec, there has been an urgent demand for bottled water.

Early in 2007, the Quebec Government announced a $12 million dollar plan to fight blue-green algae while a University of Honolulu professor believes we may be able to convert the algae into ethanol, an alternative source of power. Blue-green algae has been studied in Scotland, Germany, Israel, the Czech Republic, New Zealand, the United States, Sweden and many, many other countries- as well as the World Health Organization.

From August 5 to 10th, 2007, the 7th Annual International Conference on Toxic Cyanobacteria will be held in Brazil.

Freshwater aquarium enthusiasts use erythromycin to treat Cyanobacteria slime…

Hey… wait a minute…this is beginning to sound an awful lot like the description we were given at a recent informational seminar with speakers from the MNR, Ocean and Fisheries and others, all about “water frontage”… they spoke of a virulent and invasive plant that was choking waterways and mentioned that it was suspected that it may have originated in aquarium contents being tossed into the water.

Unfortunately, the world didn’t come with instructions. What we may think is appropriate at one point, seems silly and ridiculous at another. And then what? Some of us want the government to fix it all… that’s us… we’re the government. People have choices to make, governments have choices to make and… hopefully, as we learn, we make the best decision available… and tweak it as new information emerges.

You can’t erase the past. We must learn to live with the legacy of decisions made by parents, grandparents and their grandparents… Sure, there are things we may question but ultimately, we have little alternative. We must forgive past errors and make our own best choices to manage the results or those decisions… heaven knows that we’ll be passing along a few goof-ups, ourselves.

Sure… nobody wants to swim in pond-scum… but this has become more of a make lemonade kind of rant.