GROWTH
GROWTH IN
GROWTH IN CENTRAL TEXAS. AND THE LURE OF AUSTIN'S LAKES
AND RECREATIONAL LIFESTYLE CONTRIBUTES TO THAT
GROWTH.
BUT FOR ALL THE FUN, ENJOYMENT
AND BEAUTY OUR
WATERWAYS BRING -- THERE IS ALSO
A DANGER.
A DANGER.
A DANGER. TOXIC ALGAE KILLING PETS.
AND IT'S NOT JUST HAPPENING IN THE SUMMER MONTHS.
THE KVUE DEFENDERS FOUND OUT
WHY.
WHY.
WHY. HERE'S INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER
TERRI GRUCA.
TERRI GRUCA. YOU MAY REMEMBER BACK IN THE
SUMMER OF 2019.SEVERAL DOGS DIED AFTER
VISITS TO OUR LOCAL
LAKES AND INGESTING BLUE-GREEN
ALGAE.
IT HAPPENED HERE AGAIN RIGHT
AFTER THE
SNOWSTORMS THIS WINTER.AND THE
LOWER
COLORADO RIVER AUTHORITY FOUND
THE
SAME TOXIC ALGAE IN SEVERAL OF
THE HIGHLAND
LAKES.
TURNS OUT.IT COULD BE A DEADLY
SIDE EFFECT OF OUR
BOOMING GROWTH.
"ARE YOU READY?" THROWS BALL "GO
GET IT!" SOMETIMES YOU FIND
YOURSELF IN A PLACE WHERE THE
SIMPLE THINGS IN LIFE BRING YOU
SO MUCH JOY-- YET SO
MUCH SORROW.
"I'M SORRY I HAVEN'T REALLY
THOUGHT ABOUT THIS IN A WHILE."
A BACKYARD GAME OF FETCH HAS A
WAY OF DOING THAT FOR
CLAIRE SACCARDI.
TWO YEARS AGO A QUICK TRIP TO
THE DOG PARK AT
RED BUD ISLE -- CHANGED
EVERYTHING. SHE HAD HER GOLDEN
RETRIEVER HARPER -- FOR
FOUR YEARS -- AND THEY WERE
INSEPARABLE.
2:09-:13 "SHE WAS CHASING BALLS
AND STICKS IN THE LAKE AND
COMING
BACK."
COMING BACK." AN HOUR LATER BACK HOME WITH
HARPER...
3:00 SHE'S WALKING DOWN THE
KITCHEN ISLE AND JUST TRIPS AND
FALLS
AND COLLAPSES :05
SHE RUSHED HARPER TO AN
EMERGENCY VET.
4:35 I REMEMBER THEM COMING IN
AND SAYING YOUR BABY IS NOT
DOING
WELL CAN WE GIVE HER CPR AND OF
COURSE I SAID YES, BUT THAT'S
WHEN I
KNEW THAT IT WASN'T GOING TO BE
OKAY :57
5:17 IT WAS FAST ;19
HARPER DIED -- ACCORDING TO THE
VET -- FROM INGESTING
TOXIC BLUE GREEN ALGAE.
SHE WAS ONE OF FIVE DOGS TO DIE
THAT SUMMER IN
AUSTIN.
THEN IN JANUARY IT HAPPENED HERE
AGAIN.
ANOTHER DOG DEAD -- AFTER
PLAYING IN LAKE TRAVIS AND
INGESTING BLUE GREEN ALGAE.
I THOUGHT WE WERE THE LAST ONES
"BUT THERE'S OTHER THINGS IN
HERE..."
BRENT BELLINGER WORKS FOR THE
AUSTIN
WATERSHED DEPARTMENT AND
PERFORMS A LOT OF THE
TESTING ON OUR LAKES.
:50 I'VE GONE OUT TAKEN SAMPLES
FROM LAKE AUSTIN AND LADY BIRD
LAKE WE DID HAVE A HIT FOR THAT
SAME TOXIN IN LAKE AUSTIN BY
MANSFIELD DAM THE LOW WATER
CROSSING BUT LADY BIRD LAKE
HAS SO FAR COME BACK NEGATIVE
1:05
BLUE GREEN ALGAE ARE ACTUALLY
TYPES OF BACTERIA
KNOWN AS CYANOBACTERIA .
TYPICALLY GROWING IN AREAS WHERE
THERE
THERE ARE
THERE ARE HIGH LEVELS OF PHOSPHOROUS AND NITROGEN AND WHEN
WATER BECOMES STILL AND WARM...
BUT NOT ALWAYS.
THESE CYANOBACTERIA ARE PRESENT
YEAR ROUND THEY JUST
TEND TO CRANK UP THEIR GROWTH
RATES DURING THE HOTTEST PART OF
THE YEAR
WHICH IS WHAT CONCERNS THE
WATCHDOG GROUP-- SAVE
OUR SPRINGS ALLIANCE.
ATTORNEY
WHEN IT HAPPENED THIS YEAR, IT
HAPPENED RIGHT AFTER ONE
OF OUR HISTORIC FREEZES. SO IT'S
NOT NECESSARILY JUST THE HEAT
THAT IS CAUSING THE CONCERN AND
THE GROWTH OF THE BLUE GREEN
ALGAE. THERE'S OTHER
CONTRIBUTING FACTORS THAT ARE
OBVIOUSLY IN PLAY.
IT'S A CONFLUENCE OF
CONDITIONS-- OBVIOUSLY
DEVELOPMENT
CONTRIBUTES MORE SEDIMENT, MORE
RUNOFF, MORE NUTRIENTS
:06 AND THAT HELPS FUEL
CYANOBACTERIA GROWTH, ZEBRA
MUSSELS FROM WHAT WE'VE HEARD
EACH LAKE THAT HAS MATS HAS
ZEBRA MUSSELS
THE INVASION OF ZEBRA MUSSELS IS
A FACTOR BECAUSE THEY
FILTER OUT THE GOOD BACTERIA AND
LEAVE THE BAD -- HELPING
TOXIC ALGAE GROW.
BUT PERHAPS THE MOST CRITICAL
FACTOR- IS THE
HUMAN FACTOR.
DIRECTOR GREATER EDWARDS AQUIFER
ALLIANCE
WHEN YOU HAVE A POPULATION
THAT'S GROWING SO FAST, THAT'S
WHAT WE
HAVE IN CENTRAL TEXAS. IT'S
VERY, VERY DIFFICULT TO LIMIT
THE AMOUNT
OF NUTRIENTS GETTING INTO THESE
WATER BODIES. AND SO
THAT'S WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW.
MIKE CLIFFORD IS THE TECHNICAL
DIRECTOR FOR
THE GREATER EDWARDS AQUIFER
ALLIANCE.
HE SAYS ANOTHER CONTRIBUTING
FACTOR IS THE
GROWING AMOUNT OF TREATED
WASTEWATER
DISCHARGES THE KVUE DEFENDERS
HAVE REPORTED
ON FOR YEARS - BECAUSE OF ALL
THE DEVELOPMENT
HAPPENING IN OUR AREA.
"...AND NOW HOTSPOTS FOR
GROWTH."
WE HAVE A LOT OF NUTRIENT
SOURCES NOW COMING INTO THE
WATER, WASTEWATER TREATMENT
PLANTS,
AGRICULTURAL RUNOFF, SEPTIC
TANKS, THINGS LIKE THAT THAT ARE
UPSTREAM.
BOBBY LEVINSKI/ SAVE OUR SPRINGS
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE
DO NEED TO ADDRESS IN THE FUTURE
IS AS WE ARE GROWING AS
THE REGION, WHAT WATER QUALITY
STANDARDS ARE HOLDING
DEVELOPERS TO TO ENSURE THAT THE
WATER GETS TREATED BEFORE
IT MAKES ITS WAY BACK INTO OUR
WATER SYSTEMS.
SO ARE PEOPLE AT RISK TOO?
"AS LONG AS PEOPLE AREN'T
DIRECTLY INTERACTING WITH
THE ALGAE THEIR RISK AND THEIR
CONCERN SHOULD BE LOW.
OBVIOUSLY THIS ISN'T POTABLE
WATER YOU DON'T WANT TO BE
INGESTING THE WATER ANYWAY."
SAVE OUR SPRINGS ALLIANCE
"ONE OF THE CONCERNS ABOUT IT
MAKING ITS WAY INTO OUR WATER
SUPPLY IS HOW MUCH IS MAKING ITS
WAY IN THERE TO KNOW WHETHER
OUR TREATMENT METHODS ARE GOING
TO BE SUFFICIENT TO
MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE SAFE
DRINKING WATER.
IN FACT IN 2014 THERE WAS SO
MUCH TOXIC GREEN ALGAE IN
LAKE EERIE -- THAT THE WATER
SYSTEM IN TOLEDO OHIO
WAS SHUTDOWN.
AUSTIN WATER TOLD THE KVUE
DEFENDERS-- "IT HAS PROCESSES
IN PLACE TO REMOVE CYANOBACTERIA
AND
CYANOTOXINS AND SO FAR
CYANOTOXINS HAVE NOT BEEN
DETECTED IN ANY OF OUR PLANT
INTAKES."
SO CAN WE GET RID OF THE BLUE
GREEN ALGAE?
CERTAIN CHEMICALS CAN, BUT THOSE
PRESENT EVEN
MORE ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES. MATT
ATWOOD HAS A DIFFERENT SOLUTION.
"8:57 SO THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF A
BIOCHAR SOCK."
MATT ATWOOD SO WE HAD THE
SOLUTION THAT WE PRESENTED TWO
YEARS AGO BY PUTTING BIOCHAR IN
THE WATER AND THEN YOU FILTER
THAT WATER OUT.
BIOCHAR IS A CHARCOAL-LIKE
SUBSTANCE MADE FROM
BURNING ORGANIC MATERIAL LIKE
TREES WHICH IS
THEN PUT INTO SOCKS AND DROPPED
INTO THE WATER.
BIOCHAR IN THE CURRENT AND
ESPECIALLY WHERE THE WATER COMES
INTO THE LAKE, THEN WE CAN
CONTROL THE NUTRIENT
POLLUTION IMMEDIATELY. WE CAN
DEFINITELY DROP THAT DOWN.
AND WHEN YOU DROP THE NUTRIENTS
THAT ARE IN THE WATER,
YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE LESS ALGAE
GROWTH. > IT'S NOT A
NEW
INVENTION - IN FACT IT'S BEEN
USED IN AGRICULTURE TO
IMPROVE SOIL FERTILITY AND
YIELDS.
MATT HAS PATENT PENDING
TECHNOLOGY FOR USE ON BLUE
GREEN ALGAE AND IS WORKING WITH
TEXAS A&M TO STUDY ITS EFFECTS
IN UVALDE.
SOT
SOT
SOT ACTING PRODUCT AND IT'S A
NATURAL SOLUTION. >IT IS ONE OF THE
SOLUTIONS THE CITY IS
CONSIDERING.
IN THE MEANTIME THE CITY OF
AUSTIN HAS PUT UP SIGNS ALONG
SOME OF
THE MOST HEAVILY USED WATERWAYS
WARNING OF THE POTENTIAL
DANGERS.
AND THE TESTING CONTINUES.
"YOU CAN LOOK AT ALGAE BUT YOU
CAN'T TELL IF IT'S TOXIC OR NOT SO IT'S BEST TO KEEP YOUR
ANIMALS AWAY FROM IT
AND MINIMIZE YOUR EXPOSURE TO
IT.">
I WOULDN'T LET MY DOG GO IN
THESE LAKES RIGHT NOW WITH THIS
GOING
ON.
GOING ON.
GOING ON. 14:48 "THIS IS CHARLIE SAME
BREED AS HARPER HE'S ACTUALLY
HER BROTHER."
CLAIRE NOW HAS A NEW PUPPY AND A
NEW
PERSPECTIVE.
NEW PERSPECTIVE. 15:44 HE DOES NOT GO IN WATER
PERIOD
SHE HOPES HER STORY SITS WITH
OTHER PET OWNERS THIS
SUMMER.
16:20IT REALLY CHANGES WHAT YOU
DO AND HOW YOU LIVE YOUR
LIFE IN THE SUMMER I THINK AS A
DOG OWNER :37
IT IS POSSIBLE DOGS THAT DIED
INGESTED THE BLUE GREEN
ALGAE WHEN CLEANING THEMSELVES
AFTER
SWIMMING.
AFTER SWIMMING. AND BATHING THEM AFTER MAY NOT
BE ENOUGH TO HELP.
VETERINARIANS SAY BLUE GREEN
ALGAE IS SO TOXIC THAT
MOST PET OWNERS DON'T HAVE TIME
TO GET THEIR PETS
TO THE VET.
WE'VE GOT MORE INFORMATION ON
WHERE THE
TOXIC ALGAE HAS BEEN FOUND AND
THE ONGOING
TESTING IN THIS STORY AT
KVUE.COM.
FOR THE KVUE DEFENDERS I'M TERRI
GRUCA.
GRUCA.
FOR
FOR THE
FOR THE KVUE DEFENDERS I'M TERRI GRUCA.
GRUCA.
GRUCA. IF
GRUCA. IF YOU HAVE SOMETHING YOU'D LIKE
THE KVUE DEFENDERS TO INVESTIGATE--
JUST SEND A TEXT MESSAGE TO THE
NUMBER YOU SEE ON
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THAT'S 5-1-2.. 4-5-9.. 9-4-4-2.