APPLETON — If you’re concerned about zebra mussels, boat landing fees, walleyes, algae blooms or swimmer’s itch that can accompany a dip in Lake Winnebago, a new five-county collaborative wants to hear from you.

Backed by a $50,000 matching grant from the Department of Natural Resources, the group is in the first phase a project to protect all aspects of the system that connects Lake Winnebago to Lake Poygan, Lake Winneconne, Lake Butte des Morts and parts of the Fox and Wolf rivers.

The five counties — Calumet, Fond du Lac, Outagamie, Waushara and Winnebago — hope to build on local public feedback to identify key issues with the Winnebago System.

“Usually a government entity comes up with a proposal and then you have to respond to it,” said Mike Lizotte, president of the Winnebago Lakes Council. “This way, we might go about identifying threats to the system, or just gather a public wish list.”

The group has an interactive Web portal designed to gather feedback with surveys and discussion boards at winnegabowaterways.com. So far, invasive species, algae blooms, water quality and boating fees have attracted the most attention.

A series of public meetings also will gather input from fishermen, boaters and others who use the system. The Appleton meeting is from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Atlas Coffee Mill, 425 W. Water St.

Lizotte said not all suggestions will result in expensive, publicly funded projects.

“I hope somebody has some brilliant idea that doesn’t cost a lot of money and we can use it as a way to work together,” Lizotte said. “The real benefit from this may come in working together and trusting each other in our mutual interests.”

Julie Schmelzer, director of resource management for Calumet County, said the project could lead to broader recognition of the 132,000-acre Lake Winnebago that supplies water to more than 250,000 residents.

“Locally, people view the lake as a good recreation source for fishing, but the water quality might have hurt other opportunities for swimming and other activity,” she said. “We have one of the largest inland lakes in the country and it could continue to bring us economic opportunities, but not if we don’t deal with water quality, invasive plants and blue green algae together.”

After the data-gathering, the team will filter through the material.

via ‘Winnebago Waterways’ aims at protecting lakes | The Oshkosh Northwestern | thenorthwestern.com.

Warning issued for blue-green algae: fox11online.com

 OSHKOSH – It’s not hard to spot it. It sometimes looks like a sheen of blue-green paint on the water.

But it’s what you can’t see that health officials are warning the public about.

“There’s a possibility that as the algae grows, it creates toxins, people get into the toxin, their animals get into the toxin,” said Jeff Phillips, Winnebago County Health Department.

Different from your normal benign green algae, toxins created by blue-green algae can cause irritation, vomiting and diarrhea if ingested. In severe cases, it can even cause nerve and liver damage.

Phillips says this potentially harmful type of algae blooms because the Lake Winnebago system is perfect for growing it.

High levels of nutrients, like phosphorus from some fertilizers and pesticides, primarily come from farm and yard runoff.

Eventually forming mats of algae, it can travel long distances, even down the Fox River.

For something that happens every year, are the concerns that surround it blown out of proportion? Well, at least one scientist doesn’t think so.

“I think people tend to forget, year to year, that there is a hazard associated with blue-green algae. It’s important, for every public health issue, to remind people that it’s here,” said Rob McLennan, DNR water supervisor.

Fisherman John Gorski knows that it’s here. But he says you just learn to live with the conditions of the lake.

“Like I said, every year, it’s like that. Depends on the wind. Today it was out of the west, it’s blowing it to the other side of the lake, so. It’s pretty clear today,” said Gorski.

“Is there a cost that we see?” asked FOX 11’s Bill Miston.

“I think there is, I think it kind of goes back to the people that utilize the lake for recreation, that live around the lake. The only way we can ever get a handle on the blue-green algae is really to stop the nutrient flow,” Phillips responded.

And Phillips says that will take everyone’s help and time.

The DNR says it is making an effort to reduce the number of algae blooms each year. It is studying how to reduce the amount of nutrients from area runoff coming into the Lake Winnebago system.

Experts say you can keep your family and pets safe by following these steps:

• Avoid swimming, wading, skiing, or coming into contact with blue-green algae blooms.
• Keep children away from algae blooms. They are more likely to transfer material from their hands to their mouths than adults.
• Talk to your neighbors to make sure they are aware of any potentially threatening conditions.
• Keep pets away from algae contaminated water.

If people or pets touch the algae, they should was thoroughly with clean water. Contact your health care provider or the Poison Control Center at 1-800-222-1222 if you begin to experience any physical symptoms that could suggest exposure to the toxins. Contact a veterinarian if pets become sick.

• Click here to learn more about blue-green algae

via Warning issued for blue-green algae on Lake Winnebago.

Lake Winnebago – The recent warm spell has intensified the threat of blue-green algae on Lake Winnebago. The algae produces a toxin that can make people and animals severely sick after simple contact.

And it’s showing up unseasonably early.

Several weeks early, blue-green algae blooms are popping up on the lake. The Department of Natural Resources is issuing a warning to people on the water to avoid contact.

Diane Cappozzo of the Fond du Lac County Health Department advised, “People have to be aware that it can cause physical symptoms, and if they’re in areas where they think blue-green algae is present they really need to make sure they’re rinsing off well after you get out of the water and make sure you’re not swallowing it.”

The problem is tied to several days of intense heat.

Algae has been a problem in Lake Winnebago for years, but normally is doesn’t show up until late July. That change was brought on by a warmer than average spring and now days with temperatures in the 80s and 90s.

“Typically when we get to this point in the summer, when we get these hot sunny days, there’s plenty of nutrients in the water, and the blue-green algae starts to bloom and rise to the surface, and where the blue-green algae concentrates is a function of the wind direction,” DNR Water Resources Supervisor Rob McLennan said.

So far, the algae is mostly isolated to the northeast corner of Lake Winnebago.

The DNR expects the algae blooms to expand over the next few weeks.

“It just depends on the character of the summer as to how long it stay out there and to what degree it becomes a problem,” McLennan said.

via Blue-green Algae Blooms Unseasonably Early on Lake Winnebago – WBAY-TV Green Bay-Fox Cities-Northeast Wisconsin News.

Heavy rains over the weekend caused the City of Fond du Lac to send untreated water into Lake Winnebago from two locations.

Fond du Lac Public Works Director Jordan Skiff confirmed Monday afternoon that bypassing of the city’s Wastewater Treatment Plant occurred late Sunday morning. Water was diverted from the sewer treatment plant and from a section of town experiencing extreme volumes of water. Untreated water is diverted to avoid the backup of water in basements around the city.

“Part of (the problem) is the saturation of the soil,” Skiff said. “Sunday we had more intense rain. Thursday we had more actual rain, but spread out throughout the day.”

Skiff said the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) was notified of the bypass.

Skiff said Monday that he is working to gather facts and complete a detailed report for the DNR.

The system was back to normal function on Monday. Bypass of the treatment plant was a temporary, emergency action.

City officials were made aware Sunday of some isolated cases of standing water in the streets. The area received more than an inch of rain Sunday and about a half-inch on Saturday, according to the National Weather Service. That is on top of about 1½-inches of rain received on Wednesday and Thursday.

The intersection of Park and Merrill avenues was one of the trouble spots, including some portions of Johnson Street, Park Avenue, Amory Street and Rose Avenue.

“To my knowledge, the storm sewer was flowing fine — it was simply overwhelmed for a brief period before noon yesterday (Sunday),” Skiff said.

There were few reports of flooded basements due to the intense rains.

He said staff was working with a resident that was dealing with water in a basement without the help of a sump pump.

Public Works staff also received a few complaints of overflowing ditches. Skiff said he was not aware of widespread problems.

via Heavy rain forces City of Fond du Lac to bypass treatment plant | Fond du Lac Reporter | fdlreporter.com.

Wisconsin is not fully enforcing strict phosphorus limits adopted two years ago to reduce lake-algae blooms that make people sick, a Gannett Wisconsin Media review has found.

That’s despite the state Department of Natural Resources secretary’s alarm at foul conditions in a lake in northwestern Wisconsin last summer.

The state Legislature in 2010 approved DNR regulations intended to cut down on the amount of phosphorus running into waterways, where it causes algae to grow so thick that the water turns to green soup. The regulations are aimed at wastewater treatment plants, paper mills and factories — which are required to reapply for permits at five-year intervals.

But as of last week, only 19 permits with stricter limits have been issued since September 2010. The DNR still is evaluating applications from 201 municipal facilities and 155 industrial facilities, while hundreds more must apply for permits in the coming years.

That means boaters, swimmers and anglers on waters such as the lower Fox River and Lake Winnebago, where the annual algae bloom can be bad, can expect little change this summer as phosphorus continues to pour into the water. Once in lakes and streams, the chemical helps algae grow uncontrollably, robbing them of oxygen, harming fish and other plants and sometimes leaving people who come in contact with it ill.

“On a very practical level, the DNR is so behind and permits are sitting out there not being reissued,” said Melissa Malott of the environmental group Clean Wisconsin, which pushed for the rule. “It’s not that the DNR isn’t trying, but they just don’t have the staff to do all the things they’re supposed to be doing.”

The Fox River and Lake Winnebago are among more than 300 waters across the state in which high phosphorus levels cause problems.

The EPA requires states to maintain a list of lakes, rivers and ponds that don’t meet water quality standards. States then must come up with plans for addressing the problem at each location and send regular updates to the EPA.

Health hazards

At its worst, cyanobacteria — the organisms that feed on phosphorus and are commonly known as blue-green algae — can sicken humans, causing respiratory problems, skin rashes and cold- or flu-like symptoms. During the last three years, 100 people reported illnesses to the state Department of Public Health after exposure to blue-green algae, which also has caused the death of at least two dogs in that time.

“It’s certainly a health concern for people swimming, especially young kids,” said Todd Drew, environmental health sanitarian for Menasha.

Concerns about blue-green algae spotted on Lake Winnebago have been raised in four of the past five years, Drew said, noting a health advisory issued last year for Municipal Beach on the north shore.

Dunn County in northwest Wisconsin reported the highest number of illnesses, largely at Tainter Lake and the equally algae-coated Lake Menomin. Dick Lamers, president of the joint Lake Improvement Association, built his house on Tainter Lake in 2007 and said he was fully aware of the algae that grows on the lake each summer. But he had no idea how bad it could get.

Lamers, 64, and his wife, Marilyn, envisioned the lake house as a place their family could gather for fishing or boating — “the typical vision for someone retiring.” But on most summer days, the bay in front of their home looks like a bowl of pea soup — and smells worse. In late summer, the algae decays and gives off an odor that forces the Lamers and other neighbors to head indoors and close their windows.

“You barely want to put a boat in, much less swim,” he said.

In a video shot last summer by Clean Wisconsin, Lamers guides a small boat across the lake’s bright green surface and through decaying algae giving off a “hog farm” odor. An oar dipped into the water comes out covered in green, like a brush dipped into a can of paint.

Cited by both the DNR and Clean Wisconsin as an example of how high phosphorus levels can spoil both the recreational and economic benefits of a lake, conditions at Tainter Lake and Lake Menomin also made DNR Secretary Cathy Stepp, appointed by Gov. Scott Walker in December 2010, push for tougher phosphorus efforts.

Stepp visited with the Lamers and several other neighbors in August, touring the lake and listening to their concerns. The following month, Stepp told members of the state’s Natural Resources Board that both she and Walker were “alarmed” by the conditions.

“That this has gone on for as long as it has, for over 50 years easily, is an example to us that priorities need to be examined in all things DNR and how we spend our money,” she said. “We do not have clean water in these areas. And that to me, as the head of this agency, is disappointing at best and alarming at worst but (also) motivation to do the right thing.”

Stepp said the DNR should act as a “helper,” bringing together residents, business owners and environmentalists, rather than “a hammer” forcing rule changes.

Clean Wisconsin’s Malott said Tainter Lake and Lake Menomin should serve as cautionary tales for residents near other lakes or rivers with frequent algae problems or high phosphorus levels.

In the 40th anniversary year of the federal Clean Water Act, “we’re reaching a phase two of pollution,” Malott said. “I feel like there’s this looming cloud of toxic algae on the horizon. What’s happening in Tainter (Lake) is the direction all of our waters are headed if we don’t stop this pollution problem.”

Slow progress

Wisconsin has significantly strengthened phosphorus regulations in recent years to prevent the chemical from winding up in bodies of water. In addition to passing more stringent discharge rules for industry, lawmakers banned phosphorus-based fertilizers in 2008 and the DNR is working with farmers to reduce phosphorus runoff from their fields.

From the viewpoint of Randy Much, manager of the Neenah-Menasha sewage treatment plant, agricultural land is the biggest culprit.

“Probably the biggest source (of phosphorus) all together on the whole Fox-Wolf River basin is ag land,” Much said. “You can take all the point discharges (from municipal and industrial treatment plants) down to zero and it still wouldn’t even come close to meeting the standards.”

That means to improve the water quality in Lake Winnebago and the lower Fox River will require phosphorus reductions throughout the whole watershed, he said.

The DNR’s slow progress at enforcing the phosphorus limits isn’t that surprising to environmentalists who fought for the change. Malott said she anticipated a gap between the limits’ effective date and stricter permits being issued.

That’s why Clean Wisconsin fought against Walker’s February 2011 proposal to push back the new rules’ effective date by two years.

“We knew delays would happen, but an enforcement-deadline change would push back progress even further,” Malott said.

Regulators, environmentalists and residents of lakes dealing with the effects of phosphorus agree it could take years for new rules to bring change, even without an official delay.

The permit section of the DNR’s Bureau of Watershed Management lists 19 employees in the agency’s organizational chart and 15 employees of the wastewater section.

Amanda Minks, a water quality specialist with the DNR, said the agency is issuing new permits to city or town wastewater plants as fast as possible. Progress slowed last year when Walker proposed the delay, and the DNR had to get the process running quickly when the governor withdrew his proposal, she said.

“Infancy maybe is a good word” for the new phosphorus rules, Minks said. “We’re the first state in the Midwest to really implement this for all of our water body types.”

Minks said DNR employees at the regional and central offices work on permit applications, but the agency also is trying to be flexible with facilities applying for permits. Upgrading a wastewater plant to decrease phosphorus levels can be expensive for a company or municipality, she said.

“We want to be partners,” Minks said. “Giving that additional flexibility and compliance options takes staff time and resources to get off the ground.”

Todd Ambs is the former administrator of the DNR’s water division and now works as president of the River Network, traveling across the country to bodies of water dealing with a variety of pollutants. Wisconsin should look to the “critical state” of Lake Erie in Ohio and Michigan for a glimpse of what severe phosphorus contamination and uncontrollable algae growth can do to a body of water, Ambs said.

The shallow western side of the lake was hit with a “sickly and unprecedented” algae bloom during the last three summers with a severity not seen since the 1970s, according to the EPA.

“The western end of Lake Erie is dying,” Ambs said. “It’s very, very troublesome. We’re not just talking about quality of life. There are whole industries including charter boat fishing that are in deep, deep trouble.”

But Ambs, DNR officials and residents near algae-affected waters are prepared for a long process to improve Wisconsin waters.

“It took us more than 100 years to screw it up,” Ambs said. “So I’ve always said, it’s going to take more than a couple years to fix it.”

via Dangerous algae flourishes as Wisconsin slogs through permits | Appleton Post Crescent | postcrescent.com.

Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia (VHS) is a deadly fish virus and invasive species that is threatening the current and future health of fish in Wisconsin.

VHS has been found in European freshwater trout since the 1930s and was first discovered in Great Lakes freshwater fish in 2005. It has caused massive fish die offs in Lake Huron, Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, Lake St. Claire, and the St. Lawrence River.

In Wisconsin, VHS was first detected in the Lake Michigan and Lake Winnebago systems in May 2007. In December 2009, lake herring collected from Lake Superior near the Apostle Islands tested positive for the VHS virus.

Scientists are not exactly sure how VHS arrived, although it appears the virus may have entered the Great Lakes through ballast water introductions, brought in frozen Pacific herring to be used as fishing bait, and by migrating fish from the Atlantic Coast. The virus can spread when infected fish discharge urine or reproductive fluids, and when healthy fish consume infected fish. In addition, the virus can survive in water for at least 14 days; increasing the probability of infecting more fish.

Symptoms of VHS include hemorrhaging (bleeding), bulging eyes, bloated abdomens, anemia, pale organs, unusual bleeding found in muscle tissue and internal organs, unusual behavior, rapidly deteriorating health, and death, although some infected fish may not show any symptoms at all. Fish that survive a VHS infection will develop antibodies to the virus, temporarily protecting it from future outbreaks.

VHS is one of the most serious fish pathogens because of its ability to kill in mass quantities, it affects a variety of fish species, and isn’t treatable. It is not a health threat to people who handle or consume their catch, but can have devastating effects to at least 28 fish species, including 19 sportfish!

Fish species that can be affected by VHS include black crappie, bluegill, bluntnose minnow, brown bullhead, brown trout, burbot, channel catfish, Chinook salmon, emerald shiner, freshwater drum, gizzard shad, lake whitefish, largemouth bass, muskellunge, shorthead redhorse, northern pike, pumpkinseed, rainbow trout, rock bass, round goby, silver redhorse, smallmouth bass, spottail shiner, trout-perch, walleye, white bass, white perch, and yellow perch.

Fish species have highly variable levels of susceptibility to VHS. Current research suggests that muskellunge are the most susceptible to death after coming in contact with VHS, followed by largemouth bass, yellow perch, rainbow trout, brook trout, brown trout, coho salmon, and Chinook salmon. Characteristically, cold water fish can tolerate higher doses of the VHS virus than warm water fish.

Like all aquatic invasive species in the Lake Superior basin, VHS is a serious threat to the waters of Wisconsin. A virus that is easily spread from fish to fish, doesn’t have a cure, attacks the immune system of fish with little to no resistance against the virus, and possesses the ability to harm at least 28 fish species is a deadly combination, literally.

Wisconsin boasts some of the most protective rules to prevent the spread of VHS and other aquatic invasive species among all of the Great Lakes states. We all need to follow the rules to ensure the spread of VHS is contained now and in the future.

Take these steps to ensure that your actions are not part of the problem, but the solution!
• Inspect your boat, trailer, and equipment.
• Remove any attached aquatic plants or animals.
• Drain all water from boats, motors, and equipment.
• Never move live fish away from a waterbody.
• Dispose of unwanted bait in the trash.
• Buy minnows from a Wisconsin bait dealer.
• You must drain all water from your boat and equipment when leaving any state water except: you can take up to 2 gallons of water needed to hold live minnows that can be legally transported as outlined below.
• You may not leave a water with any live fish, or fish eggs except:
• You can take live minnows bought from a Wisconsin bait dealer and left over after a fishing trip away from any state water and use them:
1) again on that same water, or
2) on other waters but only if no lake or river water, or other fish were added to the container.

This piece was written by Scott Caven, the aquatic invasive species (AIS) coordinator for the Ashland County Land and Water Conservation Department. For more information, please contact him at (715) 682-7187 or ais.ashlandlwcd@centurytel.net.

Lake News: Watch For The Alien Invader, VHS.