COUNTY

Shawnee County, state combat blue-green algae with ultrasonic transmitter

Luke Ranker
luke.ranker@cjonline.com
Shawnee County Parks and Recreation, along with the state departments of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism and Health and Environment installed an ultrasonic transmitter in the Central Park pond that they hope will keep the blue-green algae bloom at bay. [Chris Neal/The Capital-Journal]

February is a little too chilly for some fisherman, but Don Perkins expects to see anglers of all ages at the small Central Park pond when temperatures rise, especially if the annual blue-green algae bloom is kept at bay.

The less than two-acre pond is a vital part of the neighborhood, said Perkins, the Central Park Neighborhood Improvement Organization president, but in recent years it has been plagued with blue-green algae. The toxic bacteria may have met its match with a novel device Shawnee County Parks and Recreation is testing with the help of state agencies.

Late last week, the department and partners with the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment installed an ultrasonic transmitter that will hopefully stop the algae from growing, said parks and recreation spokesman Mike McLaughlin. The 4-foot-deep urban pond has been a haven for the invasive blue-green algae and has often been the subject of health warnings from the KDHE, including late last summer.

Perkins hadn't heard about the device, but said Friday he was hopeful it would bring the end of the blue-green pest.

"In the summertime you see the old folks, young people, all going to the pond with their fishing poles," he said. "The community kind of functions around the park and the pond. It's really important we keep it clean."

The Quattro-DB Sonic Transducer hangs a few inches below the water's surface from a floating buoy. On an interval, ultrasonic radio frequencies are sent out across the pond. The frequency is minute enough to prevent the bloom from reaching sunlight while not disturbing fish.

The KDHE will continue to regularly monitor blue-green algae levels in the pond to determine how effective the device is.

“For us, this is a bit of an experiment,” McLaughlin said.

Algae blooms are not uncommon in many Kansas lakes and ponds, but Central Park has been particularly troubled by the blue-green algae because the shallow depth creates the warm, well-lit environment the species thrive in. The pond is also high in nutrients that feed the blooms from urban runoff.

The device is the first installed in a public body of water, said Richard Sanders, district fisheries biologist for the KDWPT, but one is planned for an alcove at Milford Lake. It won't eliminate the algae, especially in larger bodies of water, but Sanders said the team is hopeful it will "act like a Band-Aid."

"It won't cure it, but it will treat the symptom," he said. "Tackling the larger problem of runoff is trickier, but this will be another tool in the toolbox."

With a range of 150 to 400 meters, the ultrasonic waves are less effective in larger bodies of water, like Lake Shawnee, but McLaughlin said the county would consider adding devices to other ponds or alcoves at the lake. The project was made possible in Shawnee County with a $2,300 grant from the KDWPT’s Community Fisheries Assistance Program. Shawnee County paid just over $580 for the device.

Despite its colloquial name, the blooms are clusters of a bacteria called Cyanobacteria that are harmful to humans and animals. They develop rapidly and are often unpredictable, and according to the KDHE, appear as a scummy, plant-like surface. In large amounts, the blooms can turn the water a bright green color.

The bacteria produce toxins, which in humans can cause nausea, fever, rashes and, in extreme cases, ulcers.

"It can be fairly dangerous to fishermen, especially children," Sanders said. "It's also a bit of a PR problem. A pea soup-colored water isn't that attractive."