Blue and green

Well, it has been over a week since sections of the Barwon were closed to the public due to an outbreak of toxic blue green algae and far from improving, things seem to be getting worse! There has been little rain to speak of during the week and temperatures are hotting up again for the weekend.
As a result, the river has now been closed as far downstream as the breakwater and the green goop continues to spread. I had the chance to have a look at the section from Breakwater up to Fyansford during a run and walk yesterday (Friday) and whilst it doesn't look too much different at the Breakwater end, the section upriver from Queen's Park is currently a dozen different shades of green.

Blue green algae in the Barwon River above Queen's Park

I returned this afternoon with camera in hand to snap some more shots of the spreading scourge and hopefully of a little kingfisher I spotted on my way past yesterday. Both aims were fairly quickly achieved. The Barwon up to the confluence with the Moorabool River (as far as I went on this occasion) has a distinctly greenish tinge to it and will do for some time I am told.

Blue green algae at Queen's Park

Blue green algae

Around Queen's Park the algae is currently flowing slowly past in clumps and swirls and threads of green, aqua and every shade in between. There is one aspect however, which does not translate into a blog post, and that is the smell. It is in places - to say the least - unpleasant and gives a very particular scent to the air.

But enough of algae. I headed a little upriver and soon managed to find the kingfisher by virtue of the fact that it was being roundly chastised by a willie wagtail.

Willie Wagtail and Sacred Kingfisher

It didn't seem too concerned by this and perched on a branch and watched me take my shots. We then proceeded to play chasey amongst the trees whilst I attempted to find just the right angle. At one point it swooped down to the surface of the river after some prey in a flash of blue wings against green water.

Sacred Kingfisher near Fyansford

Sacred Kingfisher near Fyansford

Eventually I headed a little further upriver to take more shots before turning back. I was keeping an eye out for the kingfisher but would have walked straight past, had it not chosen precisely that moment to sing. We then played another short game of hide and seek before it took off for a dead tree on the opposite bank. Given the current state of the river, I had no intention of following and continued on my way downstream.

Still seeing green

Time for another quick algae update. The local media has been scattered with articles over the past several days and as of Wednesday morning, the Barwon has been closed upstream of Moorabool Street to below Baum's Weir according to information from the Corangamite Catchment Management Authority who are responsible for monitoring the river's health.
Lake Connewarre is also closed but the river at Barwon Heads is not, despite toxin levels being high there too. Certainly there was no visible indication of the algae at Barwon Heads a week ago, however the problem with the toxins produced by blue green algae is that, unlike the algae itself, they are colourless and odourless, meaning that it is not possible to gauge river health with the naked eye. In addition, the toxins can hang around longer than the algae, meaning that water quality can be unsafe even once the bloom is gone, as various authorities have been at pains to point out.
On Wednesday I thought I'd have a look at Lake Connewarre and see if the bloom was as spectacular there as the one upriver, however I was to be disappointed on this occasion. Water levels were clearly lower than over winter and I could certainly see a distinctly green tinge to areas of the lake, but nothing like the luminescent shades at Queen's Park.

Blue green algae at Lake Connewarre

As of Friday morning, the river was still closed to water activities - although for some reason this doesn't seem to include rowers as it seemed that every school for a good many miles around had at least one crew on the water. Maybe they are immune to such toxins or perhaps too tough to care!
 In my own quest to maintain some grit, I went for a run to Queen's Park and back and snuck a quick glance at the river on my way past. Certainly it was still more green than brown in many parts, but there didn't seem to be quite the same crust of algae covering the surface of the water near the lilies as there was earlier in the week.

Women's coxed fours

Nor it seems is a bit of green muck a hindrance to a two day rowing carnival on the river. The competitors, officials and supporters assembled bright and early Saturday morning and with appropriate warnings about the action to be taken in case of contact with river water proceedings got under way as they have done on the Barwon for over 140 years. A previous post here has looked at the history of rowing on the Barwon.

Geelong Grammar eight

Corio Bay Rowing Club double scull

And so the events continued seemingly with no ill effects either for the rowers or the family of ducks paddling in the shallows. Meanwhile, we sat on the bank on a sunny afternoon and took in the view, high and dry and safe from the algae.
By contrast, the weather forecast for the next couple of days is not quite so benign and there may well be some rain to flush the system clean. Help may also be at hand in the form of a serendipitous release of 40 million litres of water into the Moorabool from the reserves at Lal Lal. Whilst it won't be much help upstream of Fyansford, it may help water quality downstream through Geelong.
This ten day release which began on the 23rd January is one of three for the summer designed to deliver "environmental" flows to the river, enhancing the benefits already derived from the good rainfall over the last year. It has also been timed to coincide with the release of 27 million litres of water per day into the river for use by Geelong over the summer months.
So hopefully with a little time and a bit more water, all should soon return to normal.

A sea of green...

Over the past few days there have been a couple of reports in the paper warning of a blue green algae outbreak in the Barwon. Testing of Lake Connewarre has returned high levels of toxins with further tests to take place. The more serious possibility that conditions downstream at the river mouth, where hundreds of tourists and locals per day are enjoying an extended spell of warm weather in and on the river, might be hazardous as well was also an issue. The first article appeared two days after we'd been there ourselves and the boys had both been paddling in the shallows. Great!
Well, several days later and no sign of any ill effects, however today's paper had a subsequent article - complete with graphic photos - of a subsequent outbreak at Queen's Park. Signage has been erected and the usual warnings issued.

Warning signs duly noted!

Not satisfied with reading the paper, I decided to head down to the river and snap a few shots of my own. Wow! They weren't kidding. Upon arrival, I was confronted with what can only be described as a lurid green Barwon River swirling with muck.
My First stop was at the nearby "duck pond" which was murky green and smelt vile (but the latter is not so uncommon). Clearly the ibis, ducks and egret who were happily paddling about in the pond were not too perturbed by either the colour or the smell. Good thing they can't read, or they might have been a little more concerned.

Barwon River at Queen's Park

Next, I wandered over to have a look at the river itself near the Queen's Park Bridge. Well, there was certainly no doubting that an algal bloom had occurred. Everything was green. Needless to say, I wasn't about to go paddling in the water, but even from above, I could see that the turbidity levels must just about have been off the scale.

Blue green algae swirling in the current

 Except for the fact that this stuff is rather nasty and can lead to all sorts of health problems (see my previous post on the subject here) it was actually rather pretty. The current was making all sorts of intricate patterns from the millions of green specks infesting the water and where the water lapped at the bank or became caught up in a backwater, lines and swirls were forming on the water's surface and a solid layer of teal coloured muck was collecting.

Blue green algae amongst the lily pads

In the calmer area slightly downstream where the water lilies grow, the algae were tending to collect, forming a crust on the surface of the water. All rather bad news for the water quality, but quite cool to photograph.

A build up of blue green algae near Queen's Park

As I took my photos, various water birds continued to make use of the water, seemingly unaffected by the outbreak. So too did two crews intent on their rowing practise along with their support boats which caused small waves to lap at the bank, but didn't significantly disturb the green goop.

Water lilies in the blue green algae at Queen's Park

 After a few minutes, I had taken the shots I'd come for and headed for home. The next rain is forecast for later in the week-end or early next week. I would think a fairly good downpour would be needed to clear out the green goo and get things back to normal once more. Until then, I for one won't be going swimming!

Eeewwww!!

Up to now I haven't really looked at the environmental issues which affect the Barwon River, however with Saturday's deluge of rain, pollution has suddenly become a hot topic - well, for the next few days. The Geelong Advertiser informs me that for several days it will be unsafe to swim in either the river or Corio Bay. The reason for this is that the recent downpour caused the sewage system to overflow into the stormwater drains as well as sending a great deal of rubbish into the drains,  meaning that output from the stormwater drains may be contaminated. Not only is this bad news for humans who can suffer a range of unpleasant symptoms, but it is also a problem for the river environment in general.

Stormwater drain near Queen's Park

Large influxes of "nutrients" combined with the right weather and low water levels create ideal conditions for outbreaks of blue green algae along the course of the river. So what is blue green algae? It is actually a type of cyanobacteria, which as a group may well be the most successful micro-organisms on the planet. These tiny bacteria are thought to have given rise to the process of aerobic metabolism used by all higher life forms as well as forming the basis of chloroplasts - the part of a plant which it uses to make food. Cyanobacteria convert water into oxygen and energy by photosynthesis and it is through their actions some 3.8-2.5 billion years ago that Earth's oxygen-rich atmosphere developed. Cyanobacteria are also able to "fix" nitrogen and carbon. That is, they use the nitrogen found in nitrates, nitrites, ammonia and urea as well as carbon as part of their growth cycle.

Jerringot Wetlands

Whilst these effects are vital for the planet as a whole, contributing significantly to a reduction in greenhouse gasses, in a river system such as the Barwon, they can have negative effects. This is because the cyanobacteria use the chemicals which wash into our waterways to multiply. The result is an algal bloom which can result in a reduction in the amount of oxygen available in the water (eutrophication), which harms fish and other fauna. At the same time, cyanotoxins are produced which are toxic to humans and animals which live in and along the river.
Symptoms of poisoning in humans can include skin irritation, dizziness, numbness around the mouth, tingling in fingers and toes (produced by neurotoxins). Longer-term effects can include nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and liver dysfunction. Animals can experience weakness, staggering, difficulty breathing and ultimately death.
So what are the "nutrients" in question and where do they come from? The primary chemical culprits are nitrogen and phosphorous. In urban areas they can be found in pollutants such as leaf litter from exotic trees (particularly in autumn), human sewage, animal waste, grass clippings, paper, detergent and industrial byproducts while in rural areas crop fertilizers can also impact on the levels of nitrogen and phosphorous in the water.

Pollutants on the surface of water at Jerringot Wetlands

...at Jerringot Wetlands

Other threats to river health and to its flora and fauna come from various sources. Pesticides used to control weeds or insect infestations in crops can be carcinogenic to humans if allowed to build up in drinking water supplies whilst non-biodegradable rubbish can cause physical harm or poison river users and wildlife.

Rubbish in the Barwon near Breakwater

Grass and other rubbish washed up during the recent rain

There are some factors however, which work to counteract the effects of pollution on the river system and one of the most important is the reed beds which filter stormwater runoff before it reaches the river. In the case of the Barwon, this includes not only the reeds and other aquatic plants which line the riverbanks themselves, but also the plant life in the wetlands adjacent to the river.

Reed beds at Balyang Sanctuary

Aquatic plants at Jerringot Wetlands

I have looked at a number of these in previous posts. Much of the stormwater from Belmont is collected by Jerringot Wetlands, whilst that from Newtown flows into Balyang Sanctuary. Most of Leopold's runoff drains into Gateway Sanctuary and Ocean Grove's into Blue Waters Lake. All of these wetlands ultimately drain into the Barwon River. In many places however, Geelong's stormwater flows directly into the Barwon with no intervening wetland to reduce the level of pollutants entering the river.