Blue-green algae, or cyanobacteria, is found naturally in lakes, rivers and ponds, but it can make water hazardous. At Lake Saint-Augustin in Quebec, University of Laval chemical engineering professor Celine Vaneeckhaute is testing technology that could solve the problem for Quebec lakes - by removing the phosphorus that fuels the bloom. Blue-green algae is “pretty dangerous, especially for, of course, vulnerable people, young children, older people, and also for animals,” she says. Vaneeckhaute adds that poorly maintained septic tanks and water runoff are often what cause phosphorus in bodies of water to build up. The element then causes blue-green algae to multiply. “That can cause skin problems, but also like, digestive problems, diarrhea, vomiting and things like that,” Vaneeckhaute says. “Of course, that is a threat for our drinking water production as well,” she tells CTV. With 88 per cent of the country’s drinking water sourced from lakes and rivers according to the Nature Conservancy of Canada, blue-green algae is a big concern. “Basically what we are doing is pumping the water from the lake here through this tube. The water will then enter this column, and in here we have the resin material that absorbs the phosphates, so the phosphate will stick to it, and then the clean water goes back out,” Vaneeckhaute explains. The device is attached to two computers that track phosphorus levels as it pumps. The professor says the next step is finding the funding to scale the project up, but the interest from cities is already there. Meanwhile, Gabrielle Roy-Gregoire from Eau Secours says she’s not surprised. “It’s a really big burden that municipalities have, which is to treat drinking water or treat fresh water to produce drinking water, and also to treat wastewater before it’s back into the environment,” Roy-Gregoire tells CTV.
