Officials in the US aren't yet sure how toxic algae blooms will be this summer in Lake Erie, but are predicting a severe bloom second only to what was seen in 2011.
Oceanographer Richard Stumpf with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says heavy rain in June has washed out a lot of bloom-causing phosphorus into the lake.
"It's definitely been in the western basin. It's affected mostly around the islands, across the centre and up to Pelee Island and Canada," says Stumpf. "It just touched Point Pelee once or twice and then the winds have pushed it away."
Lake St. Clair, July 28, 2015. (NASA Earth Observatory image by Joshua Stevens)
Stumpf adds the bloom typically peaks in late August into September.
"The big question for anywhere further east is when we get into late August, early September if there's any front that has strong westerly winds then that will start pushing it well eastward into the lake," says Stumpf.
The bloom last summer forced officials in Toledo, Ohio to shut down its drinking water system.
