Water-quality experts from around the region will gather at The University of Toledo’s Lake Erie Center on Wednesday, April 10, when they’ll be trained to operate the high-tech buoys that will bob on the waves as an early warning system for harmful algal blooms all spring, summer and fall.
Each smart buoy carries a solar-powered sensor that provides real-time data measurements on water conditions remotely accessible to scientists, regional water utility managers and the general public.
Water-quality experts from around the region will gather at UToledo’s Lake Erie Center on April 10 to be trained to operate high-tech buoys that will bob on the waves as an early warning system for harmful algal blooms.
UToledo has welcomed researchers and water treatment plant operators to the Lake Erie Center to synchronize the devices ahead of each spring deployment since 2015. This year’s event is a training on how to clean and calibrate the probes that measure a variety of water quality parameters, including the presence of blue-green algae, water temperature, clarity, oxygen levels, turbidity and pH.
Participants this year include researchers from UToledo, Ohio State University and Bowling Green State University, as well as water treatment plant operators in Toledo, Oregon, Defiance, Sandusky, Ottawa and Huron.
The UToledo Lake Erie Center, the Cleveland Water Alliance and LimnoTech, an environmental science and engineering firm based in Ann Arbor, are coordinating this year’s event. It’s organized by Ken Gibbons, who graduated from UToledo with a master’s in biology in 2015 and now works as an environmental scientist for LimnoTech.
“The event has become so popular that it’s difficult to calibrate all of the equipment in one day,” Gibbons said. “As a training, it will fulfill a continuing education requirement for water quality professionals through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, as well as ensure that they receive hands-on experience on each step of the calibration process. Students also will receive hands-on experience with this professional equipment and get to interact with water treatment professionals in the region.
“I was a student at UToledo during the first calibration event in 2015,” he added. “It’s exciting to see how much it’s grown, and it’s exciting for me to remain involved in this important work.”
LimnoTech and Xylem will provide technology support for this year’s training. Participants will rotate through stations to learn the ins and outs of what are known as YSI EXO multiparameter sondes, including how to clean and calibrate each parameter.
The devices are deployed in buoys and treatment plants across the western Lake Erie, allowing for real-time data collection that in part serves as a first line of defense against harmful algal blooms.
“It’s been almost 10 years since the Toledo water crisis, but unfortunately Lake Erie harmful algal blooms are still with us,” said Dr. Thomas Bridgeman, a professor of ecology and director of the UToledo Lake Erie Center. “These devices on buoys and water intakes are essential for researchers to understand how the blooms develop and move, and for treatment plant operators to protect public drinking water supplies.”
The UToledo Lake Erie Center deploys a water quality buoy near Maumee Bay State Park and conducts biweekly cruises throughout the summer to study blooms and provide early warning of blooms in western Lake Erie.
