USGS KANSAS ALGAL TOXIN RESEARCH TEAM
What's NEW?
- Guidelines for design and sampling for cyanobacterial toxin and taste-and-odor studies in lakes and reservoirs: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2008-5038, Graham, J.L., Loftin, K.A., Ziegler, A.C., and Meyer, M.T., 2008, 39 p.
- Co-occurrence of Toxins and Taste-and-Odor Compounds in Cyanobacterial Blooms from the Midwestern United States. A presentation at the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography Summer Meeting, St. John’s, Newfoundland, June 2008, Graham, J.L., Loftin, K.A., Ziegler, A.C., and Meyer, M.T.(pdf)
Cyanobacterial (Blue-Green Algal) Blooms:
Tastes, Odors, and
Toxins
Why study cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) and associated compounds?
 Cyanobacteria may produce taste-and-odor
compounds that cause malodorous
or unpalatable drinking water.
Cheney Reservoir, Kansas. June 2003.
Photo Courtesy of KDHE.
Freshwater and marine harmful algal blooms (HABs) can occur anytime water use is impaired due to excessive accumulations of algae.
In freshwater, the majority of HABs are caused by cyanobacteria (also called blue-green algae).
Cyanobacteria cause a multitude of water-quality concerns,
including the potential to produce taste-and-odor causing compounds and toxins
that are potent enough to poison animals and humans. Taste-and-odor compounds and toxins
are of particular concern in lakes, reservoirs, and rivers that are used for
either drinking water supplies or full body contact recreation. Taste-and-odor
compounds cause malodorous or unpalatable drinking water and fish, resulting in
increased treatment costs and loss of aquacultural and recreational revenue.
Cyanobacterial toxins (cyanotoxins) have been implicated in human and animal
illness and death in over fifty countries worldwide, including at least 35 U.S.
States. Human toxicoses associated with cyanotoxins have most commonly
occurred after exposure through drinking water or recreational activities.
Cyanobacteria may also produce toxins
that are potent enough to poison humans
and animals such as cattle and dogs.
Mozingo Lake, Missouri. October 2001.
Photo by J. L. Graham.
The cyanobacterial compounds most commonly associated with taste-and-odor episodes
are geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol (MIB). Cyanobacteria also produce a
chemically and bioactively diverse group of toxins, all targeting fundamental
cellular processes and thereby affecting a wide range of organisms. Cyanotoxins
implicated in human illness include microcystin, cylindrospermopsin, anatoxin,
saxitoxin, and β-methylamino alanine (BMAA). Because of potential human health risks, cyanotoxins are currently on
the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency drinking water contaminant candidate list (CCL).
Cyanobacteria may form
thick accumulations in near-shore areas.
Binder Lake, Iowa. August 2006.
Photo by J. L. Graham
Although anecdotal reports are common, few studies have documented the distribution,
occurrence, and concentration of taste-and-odor compounds and toxins in cyanobacterial blooms
throughout the United States. In addition, while the general factors influencing cyanobacterial bloom
formation are well known the specific factors driving particular occurrences of
taste-and-odor compounds and toxins remain unclear. Taste-and-odor compounds and cyanotoxins represent both
economic and public-health concerns and resource managers, drinking water
treatment plant operators, lake associations, and local officials are
increasingly faced with decisions about cyanobacteria that affect public
awareness, exposure, and health. Understanding
the environmental factors associated with the occurrence and concentration of
taste-and-odor compounds and cyanotoxins is key to lake management and drinking
water treatment decisions and minimization of human health risks.
Taste-and-odor producing cyanobacteria
bloom in Cheney Reservoir,
south-central Kansas.
Cheney Reservoir, Kansas. June 2003.
Photo Courtesy of KDHE.
Cheney Reservoir
Severe
taste-and-odor episodes in Cheney Reservoir, a key drinking water supply for
the city of Wichita, Kansas, during the early 1990’s prompted water-quality
studies to identify and mitigate potential causes. Recent USGS studies have
focused on real-time estimation of water-quality constituent concentrations and
transport from the watershed and the description of in-reservoir conditions
that may result in cyanobacterial production of taste-and-odor compounds. The
taste-and-odor compound geosmin, probably produced by the cyanobacterial genera
Anabaena, is the likely cause of taste-and-odor episodes in Cheney
Reservoir. Continuously monitored variables, such as light, temperature,
conductivity, and turbidity have been used to successfully predict when geosmin
concentrations will exceed the human detection limit of 10 nanograms per liter
(view
real-time estimates of geosmin concentrations in Cheney Reservoir).
Ongoing studies at Cheney Reservoir will link biological, physicochemical,
hydrological, and meteorological processes to refine relations to estimate
taste-and-odor occurrences and develop new relations with other variables of
concern, such as cyanotoxins. The city of Wichita plans to use these models,
along with other variables measured in real time, to aid the management of the
resource and decrease water-treatment costs.
 Lake Olathe
Lake Olathe is an important
recreational resource for the city of Olathe, Kansas and until recently it also
provided about 10 percent of the city’s drinking water supply. Taste-and-odor
episodes have occurred periodically in Lake Olathe throughout the past 20 years
and factored into the decision to discontinue use of the lake as a water supply.
USGS studies in Lake Olathe indicated that taste-and-odor episodes were linked
to both cyanobacterial bloom formation as well as actinomycetes bacteria (a
group of taste-and-odor producing bacteria that live in soil) washed into the
lake during runoff events.
The USGS
Organic Geochemistry Research Laboratory (OGRL)
The OGRL has a USGS approved GC/MS method for the analysis of the taste-and-odor
compounds geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol (MIB). In addition, the lab currently
analyzes for the cyanotoxin microcystin using enzyme-linked immunosorbent
assays (ELISA). Methods are being developed for the LC/MS/MS analysis of
cyanotoxins including microcystins, anatoxin, cylindrospermopsin, and β -methylamino alanine (BMAA).
Abstracts And Presentations
- Preliminary Assessment of Cyanotoxin Occurrence in Lakes and Reservoirs in the United States, 2008,Loftin, K.A., Graham, J.L., Meyer, M.T., Ziegler, A.C., Dietze, J.E. Holdsworth, S., Tarquinio, E., National Water Quality Monitoring Conference, Atlantic City, NJ, May, 21, 2008.(PPT)
- Cyanobacterial blooms: toxins, taste, and odors. A presentation for the topical session
“Cyanobacteria and Water Quality” during the USDA-CSREES National Water Conference, Reno, NV, February, 2008. (PDF)
Reports and Publications
Microcystin distribution in physical size class separations of natural plankton communities,
Graham, J. L. and J. R. Jones, 2007, Lake and Reservoir Management, v. 23, p. 161-168.
Harmful algal blooms,
Graham, J.L., 2006, U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2006-3147, 2 p.
Microcystin in Midwestern Lakes,
Graham, J. L., J. R. Jones, and S. B. Jones, 2006, LakeLine, v. 26, p. 32-35
Water quality and relation to taste and odor compounds in the North Fork Ninnescah
River and Cheney Reservoir, South-Central Kansas, 1997-2003, Christensen, V.G., Graham,
J.L., Milligan, C.R., Pope, L.M., and Ziegler, A.C., 2006, U.S. Geological
Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2006-5095, 49 p.
Spatial and Temporal Dynamics of
Microcystin in a Missouri Reservoir, Graham, J.L, Jones, J.R., Jones, S.B.,
and Clevenger, T.E., 2006, Lake and Reservoir Management, v. 22, p. 59-68
Environmental Factors
Influencing Microcystin Distribution and Concentration in the Midwestern United
States, Graham, J.L., Jones, J.R., Jones, S.B., Downing, J.A., Clevenger,
T.E., 2004, Water Research, v. 38, p.4395-4404.
Surface-Water-Quality Conditions and Relation
to Taste-and-Odor Occurrences in the Lake Olathe Watershed, Northeast Kansas,
2000–02, Mau, D.P., Ziegler, A.C., Porter, S.D., and Pope, L.M., 2004, U.S.
Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2004-5047, 95 p.
Method of Analysis and Quality-Assurance Practices
by U.S. Geological Survey Organic Geochemistry Research Group--Determination of
Geosmin and Methylisoborneol in Water Using Solid-Phase Microextraction and Gas
Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry, Zimmerman, L.R., Ziegler, A.C., and E.M.
Thurman, 2002, U.S. Geological Survey Open File Report 02-337, 12 p.
Additional Information
THE USGS KANSAS ALAGAL TOXIN TEAM:
Jennifer Graham
U.S. Geological Survey
4821 Quail Crest Place
Lawrence, KS 66049-3839
Telephone: (785) 832-3511
Fax: (785) 832-3500
Email: jlgraham@usgs.gov
Keith Loftin
U.S. Geological Survey
4821 Quail Crest Place
Lawrence, KS 66049-3839
Telephone: (785) 832-3543
Fax: (785) 832-3500
Email: kloftin@usgs.gov
Mike Meyer
U.S. Geological Survey
4821 Quail Crest Place
Lawrence, KS 66049-3839
Telephone: : (785) 832-3544
Fax: (785) 832-3500
Email: mmeyer@usgs.gov
Andy Ziegler
U.S. Geological Survey
4821 Quail Crest Place
Lawrence, KS 66049-3839
Telephone: (785) 832-3539
Fax: (785) 832-3500
Email: aziegler@usgs.gov
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