Chowan Bloom

As the temperatures cool, the likelihood of algae blooms and associated water quality problems diminishes. Flowing through the sparsely populated northeast North Carolina, the Chowan River needs a break from being plagued by several blooms that raised health alerts from the State this summer.  

State officials with the N.C. Division of Water Resources continue to urge the public to avoid contact with green or blue water in the Albemarle Sound and adjoining waterbodies, due to an algal bloom that has lingered in the area since May 14, 2019. https://t.co/H0MiCuqj06 pic.twitter.com/85FJWPXl9u

— N.C. DEQ (@NCDEQ) July 5, 2019

The World Health Organization (WHO) provides guidance on the probability of adverse health effects due to cyanobacteria exposure.  WHO cautions that moderate probability of adverse health effects with 100,000 cyanobacterial cells/ml. The prolonged bloom in the Chowan had cell counts 15 times that amount! 

Clearly nutrient related water quality problems exist in the river. The severity of this bloom has put the river on the NC DEQ’s radar and the state will need to undertake pollution control protection for this sickened ecosystem.