2023 Lake of the Woods Fall Algae Bloom Most Severe Since the Early 2000s

2023 Lake of the Woods Fall Algae Bloom Most Severe Since the Early 2000s

Treaty I LoW 2023 10 01The view from space is compelling and confirms what we have seen firsthand on Lake of the Woods at the end of September. The cyanobacterial bloom (aka blue-green algae) on Lake of the Woods is tracking towards being one of the most severe since 2002.

By late September, a massive bloom extended across 2,800 km2 or 73% of the lake’s surface.  The bloom was extremely intense with satellite-derived measures of chlorophyll-a concentrations exceeding 60 µg/L over most of the southern and middle basins of the lake.