SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) – Syracuse is going through one of its hottest summers in history this year, driving people to explore several of the beaches around the central New York area to find relief. They are, however, sometimes disappointed. Many of these beaches are experiencing temporary closures, some related to harmful algal blooms, which are caused when algae grow very large and out of control.
One of the reasons behind these harmful algal blooms is the increased heat that central New York is experiencing. The chairman of the Onondaga County Legislature, Dave Knapp, said that some of the other contributors are rainwater and chemicals from farming including phosphorous.
Several of these blooms have been recorded around lakes in the Central New York region. In 2017, over 100 New York beaches were closed for part of the summer due to the blooms. Two beaches in Cayuga County closed earlier this year because of the harmful algal blooms.
The blooms can be very dangerous to people and the wildlife in the water. Knapp says that the harmful blooms are also harmful to the businesses and others who depend on the lakes for their livelihoods.
“It definitely had significant impact on the businesses around the lake,” Knapp told NCC News regarding the algae.
To combat the harmful algal blooms, Mayor Ben Walsh and New York State Senator John Mannion announced a program in Syracuse to help contain the algal blooms. The program uses $100,000 in state funds and uses a detection system to stop the algal blooms from spreading before they become dangerous to people. Walsh and Mannion hope to start testing the system next summer.
