Due to increasing occurrences of toxic cyanobacterial blooms, the Chilmark Pond Foundation (CPF) recently launched an LG Sonic MPC-Buoy (LG Sonic Buoy) into Middle Chilmark Pond to help eradicate the blooms.
“The two greatest challenges facing Island ponds are warming temperatures and increasing nutrient pollution, triggered by climate change and shrinking natural lands, respectively,” Emily Reddington, executive director of the Great Pond Foundation, says. “The globally increasing temperatures of our changing climate are literally turning up the heat and increasing the pressure on ecosystems. Nitrogen and phosphorus are vital building blocks of life, but in excess, they are detrimental to pond health. Cyanobacteria, often referred to as the blue-green algae we see sometimes in waterways, can produce toxins that can be fatal for animals and humans.”
When ponds become impaired, Reddington explains, the life within them struggles with imbalance, and can become toxic to the creatures who come into contact with their waters. “When humans change an intact, native landscape into a developed one (with houses, manicured lawns, wastewater, and fertilizer) more nutrients are being added to the environment than the land can process. In cases of harmful algal blooms, or HABs, one member of the ecosystem grows out of control, or blooms. This can either degrade pond health through overconsumption of oxygen during the process of decay, or it can trigger the production of toxins that are harmful to humans and non-human animals alike.”
Dogs are particularly susceptible to cyanobacteria blooms, as they ingest the water and its toxins. “Unfortunately, studies show that dogs are attracted to cyanobacteria,” Reddington continues. “If a bloom is occurring in your area, it is best to keep your dog away from the water, as there are many examples of dog fatalities after contact with blooming waters.”
The Chilmark Pond Foundation explored various methods to reduce HABs and improve water quality, and the LG Sonic MPC-Buoy proved to be the most effective choice for the pond’s conditions. LG Sonic’s headquarters is in the Netherlands, with a U.S. base in Skaneateles, N.Y. According to the company’s website, the buoy uses ultrasonic waves to block algae’s access to sunlight and nutrients. “The ultrasonic algae control devices emit low-power ultrasound waves in the top water layer, generating a constant pressure cycle around the algal cells. This interferes with the algae’s buoyancy regulation, preventing them from accessing sunlight and nutrients. At specific frequencies, these sound waves can be used to control algae growth. Ultrasonic algae control stops algae growth without harming other aquatic life. It is environmentally safe, data-driven technology, with long-term algae control.”
LG Sonic MPC-Buoy biologist Jacob Yodzis came to the Island to assemble the buoy and assist with the launch. Yodzis is responsible for the service and operations of the U.S. algae control projects. “MPC stands for monitor, predict, control,” he says. “The buoy monitors and predicts in real time. In the monitoring phase, our buoys capture data every 30 minutes on key water quality factors, such as temperature and pH. This helps us understand in real time what is going on throughout that body of water. In the predicting phase, that data is then remotely sent to our software, MPC-View, to assess against years’ worth of global data to recognize patterns and aid in forecasting algal blooms. And finally in the control phase, our LG Sonic staff may adjust programmatic parameters such as waveform or frequency to develop the appropriate ultrasonic treatment plan for the water.”
Several Chilmark neighbors were also on hand the day the buoy was launched. Gary (“MacGyver”) Mattou assisted the owner of Aquamarine Dock Builders, Steve Ewing, and his son Niko as they lifted the buoy by crane into the water, attached it to a boat, and delivered it to its home location.
The current president of the Chilmark Pond Association, Amy Salzman, states that the buoy’s cost is about $75,000. “So far, the CPF has depended on private donations from the community to support its work. Now that it is actually doing projects — dredging and installing the sonic buoy — it hopes to get some foundation and government funding, too.”
Though the LG Sonic Buoy is currently a necessary tool, Reddington says there are steps the Island community can take to help prioritize water: “Change is a natural and inevitable part of life. Our power lies in how we respond to change. Living in a place where nature is at our doorstep is a privilege. If we want to preserve and sustain the life in our waters, we need to alter the trajectory of change. The actions our community takes in the next decade will have a profound impact on the fate of the Island’s living waters.”
Reddington says that science and conservation are racing against the clock to save nature: “Policy and permitting seem to be lagging behind. Time is of the essence, as the more we do now, the better the outcome of restoration efforts. We need to be nimble, coordinated, informed, and proactive in our response to the crisis facing our waters. We need to be the voice of water,
the voice of the ecosystem.”
How do we do this? “If enough community members speak up and advocate for the fate of our waters at planning board meetings, at conservation hearings, and at annual town meetings, there will be ripples in decisionmaking that spread out like a safety net for our waters,” Reddington continues. “For each change proposed, please consider how it may impact water and watersheds, and if those changes fulfill critical needs of the community, as development will always have an environmental consequence.”
Reddington also suggests that we think about our personal nitrogen footprint: “The three greatest sources of nitrogen pollution in most Island ponds are wastewater, fertilizer, and atmospheric deposition. Reducing nitrogen from wastewater is costly and complex. It will take a combination of solutions, from hooking up existing homes to wastewater treatment facilities in towns where they exist, to upgrading septic systems to nitrogen-reducing technologies, or even finding a way to create the local infrastructure for urine-diverting toilets. A simple and inexpensive solution is to reduce or eliminate the use of fertilizer. Synthetic and organic fertilizer both contain nitrogen. What matters is decreasing how much nitrogen enters watersheds.”
To learn more about the Great Pond Foundation, visit greatpondfoundation.org. To learn more about the Chilmark Pond Association, go to chilmarkpond.org/about-us. To view the LG Sonic Buoy foundation’s presentation, visit chilmarkpondfoundation.org.