Harmful cyanobacterial blooms (HCBs) are complex ecological phenomenon that can occur where cyanobacteria proliferate and dominate aquatic ecosystems including lakes, streams, rivers, reservoirs, ponds, and freshwater-influenced estuaries. These blooms can disrupt ecological balance, affect drinking water sources and recreational waters, and may occur both in the water column (planktonic blooms) and attached to surfaces such as sediments, vegetation, or woody debris (benthic blooms).
Created as a companion to ITRC’s Strategies for Preventing and Managing Harmful Cyanobacterial Blooms (HCB-1, 2021), this Strategies for Preventing and Managing Benthic Harmful Cyanobacterial Blooms (HCB-2, 2022) document dives into the unique challenges in evaluating and communicating the public health and environmental risks of benthic harmful cyanobacterial blooms, and provides insight into contemporary best management practices for dealing with these harmful toxic blooms.
Topic(s): Harmful Cyanobacterial Blooms (HCBs), Water Quality, Wetlands
