In 2014, while the nation's attention was focused on the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, another crisis was quietly unfolding in Toledo, Ohio, receiving far less attention.

Lake Erie—the source of Toledo's drinking water—experienced a harmful algal bloom, and toxins entered the city's water supply system. On August 2 of that year, residents received urgent warnings not to drink or use tap water, a ban thatlasted nearly three days。

This crisis prompted a renewed focus on water quality issues and led to the creation ofSmart Lake Erieproject. Led by the nonprofit Cleveland Water Alliance (CWA) and multiple partners, the project shares similarities with the Jefferson Project on Lake George in New York.

As more cities and water utilities seek to improve drinking water quality and avoid repeating public health crises, "smart lake" initiatives are accelerating.

Algal blooms and salt impair water quality

Harmful algal blooms, which release toxins into water and contaminate supplies, are a major problem that smart lake technologies aim to address. Blooms are often triggered by uncontrolled algae growth, but the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)statesthat it is not yet clear how multiple factors interact to cause harmful algal blooms.

According to NOAA, pollution, water flow changes, and climate change may all play a role, along with nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen from lawn and agricultural runoff. The impacts can be highly destructive.

"This is a massive disruption to fish habitats and other aquatic life every summer," Max Herzog, program director for Smart Lake Erie at CWA, told Smart Cities Dive. "At the same time, it has a significant impact on the regional economy, especially tourism, recreation, and property values."

The human cost is also significant. In avideo about preventing water quality crises in the Great Lakesproduced by the Ocean Conservancy, Cleveland's water quality manager Scott Moegling recalled the 2006 situation when lake algae entered the city's water treatment plant and residents' pipes. At that time, the drinking water turned yellow, and the system needed flushing to remove the harmful algae.

External organizations are also deeply concerned about the impact of harmful algal blooms on water quality. In aninteragency reportprepared for the White House by the U.S. National Science and Technology Council in August 2017, scientists from multiple federal departments warned that these impacts could be extremely severe for the daily survival of wildlife and humans.

The report stated: "They can also have serious impacts on the social health of communities, leading to loss of income for lakeside economies that depend on fishing or seafood harvesting and tourism; disrupting livelihoods, social and cultural practices; or causing loss of community identity associated with water resource use. These impacts force us to ask: Is tap water safe to drink or bathe in? Can we swim at the beach? Is this fish safe to eat? Are pets at risk? Will this affect my business or job?"

Lake George in upstate New York has not been severely affected by harmful algal blooms, but advocates and others say they are closely monitoring the situation. The main threat to the lake comes from road de-icing salt seeping into the water. As new construction and roads increase in the region, salt runoff is intensifying, which can be toxic to wildlife and degrade water quality.

"Road salt is one of the most serious water threats we face," Eric Siy, executive director of the Lake George advocacy group FUND for Lake George, told Smart Cities Dive. "It has been ignored and overlooked for too long, and now it is coming back to haunt us in very ugly, insidious ways."

Siy also noted that septic systems near lakeside homes, if not properly maintained, can also cause pollution.

"Road salt is one of the most serious water threats we face. It has been ignored and overlooked for too long, and now it is coming back to haunt us in very ugly, insidious ways."

—Eric Siy, Executive Director, FUND for Lake George

The urgency of avoiding drinking water crises has prompted elected officials in Ohio and New York to develop statewide plans. Ohio recently launched theH2Ohioproject, investing$172 millionin its first two years for data-driven solutions to prevent harmful algal blooms and phosphorus runoff.

At theunveiling of the H2Ohio project, Ohio's Republican Governor Mike DeWine said the science-based plan would protect water quality while investing to help farmers and other industries change their practices.

"Simply put, our state cannot prosper if we find ourselves in water crisis after water crisis," DeWine said.

New York's Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo, meanwhile, announced in2018action plans to combat harmful algal blooms in 12 lakes, as part of a$65 millioninitiative to protect water quality in upstate New York.

Technology-driven monitoring

To address major issues such as harmful algal blooms, salt, and septic pollution, Lake Erie and Lake George are turning to technology, including deploying sophisticated sensor networks to monitor water quality.

On Lake George, the Jefferson Project began in 2013 as a collaboration between IBM, FUND for Lake George, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), which had previously conducted research at the Darrin Fresh Water Institute on the lake's shore.

The Jefferson Project has deployed more than 500 sensors on Lake George, distributed across 52 smart sensor platforms, providing real-time data on conditions such as water currents. The lake also features sensor-equipped robotic buoys that can dive to various depths to measure water temperature, pH acidity, and chlorophyll levels. The buoys are equipped with full weather stations that capture wind speed and monitor air conditions to gain insights into the impacts of severe weather.

IBM researcher and Jefferson Project associate director Harry Kolar told Smart Cities Dive that some weather stations are also built on rocky outcrops in and around the lake. Monitoring stations are also placed in the lake's tributaries, measuring water flow, depth, salinity, and the chemical characteristics of water entering and leaving Lake George.

These devices communicate with each other using artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies, feeding data into the Jefferson Project's modeling system.

These efforts stem from a 30-year study of lake water quality that brought together data on various trends, including road salt runoff. Siy said the technology-driven approach represents a significant shift from previous water quality monitoring efforts on Lake George, which he described as "piecemeal" and more reactive after problems emerged.

"We have truly disrupted the status quo and determined what we know has happened to Lake George over the past generation under the current approach to preservation... What do we want Lake George to look like for the next generation?" Siy said. "If we want to change the trend line, we have to evolve from the status quo."

The Smart Lake Erie project has had a similar journey. It originated from a series of Erie Hack innovation challenges hosted by CWA and its partners. At the first competition in 2017, much of the focus was on real-time water quality monitoring.

Today, Smart Lake Erieusesmultiple sensors on buoys to monitor nutrients and water chemistry, as well as weather on the lake and in the surrounding region. Herzog said there are several related projects under the initiative, including "Smart Citizen Science," which brings next-generation water quality monitoring equipment to volunteer monitoring programs in the Lake Erie region and integrates their data into a public data platform.

This summer, Smart Lake Erie is partnering with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and the consulting firm Limnotech to launch the first scaled pilot of a high-frequency watershed water quality sensing project. The project will focus on demonstrating how low-cost, high-frequency monitoring can collect high-resolution data while maintaining quality.

"To truly achieve the nutrient reductions we need to clean up the region ecologically, we must be able to monitor and evaluate the impacts of various projects aimed at reducing nutrient pollution, and collect data to adaptively manage these projects, improving their efficiency and sustaining it," Herzog said.

Results and opportunities

Smart lake projects are producing results and also creating opportunities for monitoring the conditions of Lake George and Lake Erie. Kolar said RPI research teams have used data collected from Lake George to publish peer-reviewed papers, including studies on how changes in water chemistry affect frogs.

Data collected by IBM's many IoT sensors feeds into what Kolar calls the Jefferson Project's "modeling system," which uses the data to predict weather and runoff across the lake's watershed. IBM uses its advancedDeep Thundersoftware to perform calculations and make high-resolution weather predictions.

"It enhances scientific capability because we can intelligently examine data, analyze modeling data that is also validated by sensors, so we clearly understand model accuracy and skill, enabling us to make very accurate predictions and take appropriate actions," Kolar said.

Meanwhile, the public cantextsome of the smart buoys to receive weather, water quality, and water chemistry information. The Jefferson Project also makes similar weather and water quality informationpublicly availablethrough a digital data dashboard, which will be continuously updated in the coming months.

Herzog noted that as issues like harmful algal blooms and salt runoff are addressed and water quality is protected, the remediation costs borne by drinking water treatment facilities will also decrease.

"In many cases, the technology already exists; the key is how to implement it correctly, how to sustain the deployment and maintenance of these technologies, and manage them in an iterative and dynamic way."

—Max Herzog, Program Director, Cleveland Water Alliance

Lower-tech initiatives can also make a difference. The federal interagency report noted that reforestation and wetland restoration can help address issues like nitrogen runoff and reduce nutrients in water systems, but it also emphasized that using technology for monitoring and data collection is crucial for understanding the links between specific conditions and impacts on wildlife.

Modeling is also critical in identifying where and when harmful algal blooms are likely to occur, giving local officials the opportunity to prevent blooms before they develop excessively, the report said.

As local governments seek to replicate the experiences of Lake George and Lake Erie, Herzog recommends a regional approach that involves all governments or entities relevant to lake health. The Greater Phoenix and North Texas regions have already engaged in regional collaboration on smart climate or transportation projects, and Herzog said this model can also apply to smart lakes.

"In many cases, the technology already exists; the key is how to implement it correctly, how to sustain the deployment and maintenance of these technologies, and manage them in an iterative and dynamic way," he said. "This truly requires comprehensive and deep collaboration among all stakeholders, with support at multiple levels."

Siy said he hopes Lake George and the Jefferson Project can show others what is possible, especially after problems are revealed.

"People need inspiration more than ever, and where better than Lake George to be a source of inspiration for others?" he said.