The Kansas Department of Health and Environment will implement a new program for assessing the 
impact of blue green algae at Milford Lake.
In the short term it means more relaxed restrictions on blue green algae cell counts before usage of the lake for direct water recreation such as swimming and jet skiing are restricted, but a solution to the overall problem is still elusive. That problem has resulted in numerous closures, warnings, and advisories at the lake in recent years…particularly 2011 and 2014. That led to a reduction in recreation usage and a negative impact in the lake area.
Now KDHE will implement a three phase program where watches, warnings, and finally recommended beach or lake closures could be implemented. The cell count will increase from 20,000 under and advisory in the past to 80,000 for a watch in the future. Tom Stiles with KDHE said it raises the level before any sense of alarm is triggered relative to the blue green algae. “We had always gone with what the world ( WHO ) guidelines were, but we found that in Kansas those numbers don’t play exactly the way they do from the world’s perspective, and so we had the latitude to raise those cell count numbers without compromising public health whatsoever. ”
A warning will now go from 100,000 up to a 250,000 cell count, and there will be a third more severe level…recommended beach or lake closure. Milford Reservoir will also be divided into three zones, meaning a portion of the lake could be under a watch or warning but not the remainder of the reservoir.
Signage will be posted and you will be able to check the KDHE website for information on watches, but there will not be any news releases to the media at that stage. The media will be notified when the cell counts reach warning levels.
The flow of phosphorus and nitrogen into the lake from the Republican River basin is a cause of blue green algae. There is also a belief at the state level that high water levels in the lake can be a problem in fostering algae blooms, however the main purpose for the reservoir operated by the Corps of Engineers is flood control, not recreation. Stiles said, “With Milford it just seems unique in holding onto that high water into the summer time may be a recipe for starting to let those blooms proliferate. “In addition the presence of zebra mussels in Milford Lake has led to clear water apparently allowing the increased development of blue green algae because sunlight can penetrate deeper into the water.
The long term challenge is to fix the root cause, something which will be challenging to control due to the inflow of phosphorus and nitrogen from the heavy agricultural Republican River watershed area into the lake. Plans for dealing with it listed by KDHE include possibly reducing non-point sources.
–Reduce sediment load with voluntary incentive programs
–Crop and livestock best management practices to reduce nutrient loading.
And effort to educe point source loads where phosphorus is put out. That could include reducing opportunities or nutrients from mechanized wastewater plants in some communities upstream on the Republican River through upgrades in treatment, and from lagoons in smaller towns.
A packed meeting room at the Milford City Building listened to the information provided by KDHE and the Corps of Engineers Thursday. Brad Roether, Milford Mayor, understood the short term improvements, but looked at the bigger picture. “Basically you heard in there, if we get high water w’re really going to be in a bad situation. And then learning that they wouldn’t let that water downstream if we have the blue green algae, that’s going to be a worse problem for us.”