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Challenges of managing harmful algal blooms in US drinking water systems

Nature Sustainability volume 4, pages 958–964 (2021)Cite this article

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Abstract

Inland freshwater harmful algal blooms are a growing threat to drinking water worldwide. Here we present the results of a national survey of how drinking water managers experience and perceive both nuisance harmful algal blooms and toxic harmful algal blooms (TABs) (N = 335) in the United States. We find that previous experience with harmful algal blooms increases drinking water systems’ planning and preparation. However, unexpectedly, we also find that (1) water managers who experienced TABs rate them as more difficult to manage than do those with no previous TAB experience, and (2) managers in systems that experience TABs become increasingly reliant on internal resources to respond to TABs once they occur rather than reaching out for external sources of information and technology. This turn towards self-reliance could make the effective dissemination of state-of-the-art information and solutions more difficult among water systems and further isolate some vulnerable systems.

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Fig. 1: Algal-bloom impacts on drinking water systems across the United States according to our analyses.
Fig. 2: Correlation plots of respondent perceptions by experience.
Fig. 3: Perceived management difficulty by experience.

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Data availability

All data collected and analysed during this study are included in this published article as Supplementary Information.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the National Science Foundation award no. OCE-1600012: Coastal SEES—enhancing sustainability in coastal communities threatened by harmful algal blooms by advancing and integrating environmental and socioeconomic modelling.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA

    Galen Treuer & Christine Kirchhoff

  2. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Maria Carmen Lemos & Francesca McGrath

  3. Arcadia Fund, London, UK

    Francesca McGrath

Authors
  1. Galen Treuer
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  2. Christine Kirchhoff
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  3. Maria Carmen Lemos
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  4. Francesca McGrath
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Contributions

G.T. and F.M. led the data collection and analysis with contributions from C.K. and M.C.L. All authors contributed equally to writing.

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Correspondence to Galen Treuer.

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Peer review information Nature Sustainability thanks Gül Özerol and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

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Supplementary information

Supplementary Information

Supplementary Tables 1 and 2.

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Supplementary Data

Anonymized survey data.

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Treuer, G., Kirchhoff, C., Lemos, M.C. et al. Challenges of managing harmful algal blooms in US drinking water systems. Nat Sustain 4, 958–964 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-021-00770-y

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