Conditions Ripe for Algae Bloom in 20 Other WV Streams

West Virginia Public Broadcasting
15 October 2009

October 15, 2009 · Dunkard Creek was the only casualty of a massive fish kill last month, but state officials say other streams could easily be affected.

At a legislative interim meeting Thursday, state officials discussed the causes and effects of the Dunkard Creek fish kill.

One way to measure how much pollution is in a creek is its conductivity level – how easily it can conduct electricity.

Dunkard Creek contains a large amount of dissolved solids – basically, chemical pollutants – and therefore has a high conductivity level.

But nine state waterways have higher conductivity levels than Dunkard Creek. The North Branch of the Potomac River is five times higher. The Mud River -- four times higher.

State officials fear these streams are ripe for a golden algae bloom, which they say was responsible for the massive fish kill on Dunkard Creek.

The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection blames the exotic algae for killing most aquatic life in the stream. But the agency admits high pollution levels from two mine sites fed the algae’s growth.

In all, there are 20 other rivers and streams that could be prone to fish kills similar to Dunkard Creek's, according to Scott Mandirola, director of Waste and Water Management with the DEP.

“We know high conductivity makes a conducive atmosphere for the growth of this algae,” he said. “We don’t know exactly how the algae got here, we don’t know if it’s been here for awhile or if it just came in the last year or so.

“Our concern is, because we’re not clear on how it transports, if it does transport to another ecosystem that has a conducive environment, we could see a similar bloom.”

Mandirola says no one is sure how the golden algae got into Dunkard Creek. It’s native to the Southwest, and this is its first occurrence in the Mid-Atlantic states. But he says it’s likely there to stay.

“Most of our discussions with the experts in this algae field have said ‘once you have it, you have it,’” he said. “It’s a very difficult algae to just get rid of.”

Instead, Mandirola said the DEP can focus on making streams more hospitable to green algae—which isn’t toxic. To do this, conductivity levels would have to be lowered. And one way to lower the conductivity would be to put tighter pollution controls in place.