While the sprawling algae blooms are not the result of human activity directly on the lake, the phenomenon has prevented people from enjoying Lake Mendota’s full potential.
More seriously than a decrease in summer activity, though, the algae represent a health risk to both human lake-goers as well as the animals and organisms who call Mendota home.
These high levels come from sediment runoff from the agriculture industry.
Although the problem in Mendota is most visible to the Madison community, agricultural pollution has jeopardized water quality and aquatic ecosystems across the state.
They have improved various practices, especially with regards to tillage and fertilizer planning, according to Kucharik.
In Wisconsin particularly, these large-scale farms have increased the number of their cows, resulting in more concentrated areas of manure, which contaminate water sources.
In a recent interview with the Wisconsin State Journal, the director of Wisconsin Land and Water, Jim Vandenbrook, pointed to this lack of state funding as a serious obstacle in its fight to improve overall water quality in the state.
It will take years for the pollution in water sources like Lake Mendota to improve.
However, the long timetable does not mean the state and its population can continue to ignore the problem.
Kucharik notes that this issue will eventually “come to a head,” and that “the state would be well-served for the future to start thinking about those things now, instead of kicking it down the road for the next group.” The algae that blooms in our campus’s lake represent more than just an obstacle to summer fun: It indicates a dangerous epidemic within our entire state.