State, regional boards outline expanded monitoring and response for harmful algal blooms

State and regional water board officials described a patchwork of monitoring and new program work aimed at faster detection and public warnings for harmful algal blooms (HABs), while identifying long-term data gaps that will shape future regulation.

The state office of Information Management and Analysis said current HAB work is largely reactive: local partners report suspected blooms, staff confirm and post risk communications, and limited laboratory testing establishes whether toxins are present. The program established under SB 834 pays for regional event response but lacks enough resources for proactive, statewide surveillance and follow-up sampling, officials said.

State staff emphasized that freshwater cyanobacterial blooms (cyanobacteria, often called “blue-green algae”) and estuarine events show different behaviors: benthic mats on substrates and floating planktonic blooms have different exposure pathways and require different monitoring. Officials described a two-tiered approach: event response teams to validate reported blooms…