By ALEXANDER SIMONE

Staff writer

Fishermen or boaters who have been deterred by blue-green algae at Marion County Lake can look forward to better conditions this fall, according to lake manager Isaac Hett.

Blooms will recede during fall and winter months the way animals go into hibernation, and return in the spring, Hett said.

“Once that water temp at least drops into the low 70s, we should get out of this warning,” he said. “Those algae should get off the surface and go back down.”

Carp that were released into the lake this summer could have an effect on the lake algae overall, but not blue-green specifically, Hett said.

“They help with most other type of algae, but blue-green algae isn’t one they go after,” he said. The algae-combative solution being tested by Kansas Department of Health and Environment is safe for fish, but there won’t be enough test results to know if it is working until spring.

Other options Hett has investigated are also thought to be safe for fish, but the application requirements are too frequent, he said.

“They’re all fish-safe,” he said. “The issue is that a lot of those products are short-term.

“It works, but people have to reapply it every three weeks.”

Prospects for a possible solution to algae blooms are promising, even if there is no immediate way to combat them, Hett said.

“There are more and more companies looking into the blue-green algae and trying to come up with some solution,” he said. “I think we’re getting close to one that’s worth looking into. With KDHE doing its own studies as well, that’s promising for us.”