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New York highlights multi‑agency strategy, new funding to fight harmful algal blooms
Summary
State agencies told a Senate hearing that New York is expanding watershed protections, monitoring and targeted mitigation to address harmful algal blooms, and officials said recent state investments and interagency work aim to reduce nutrient pollution that fuels blooms.
New York state agencies told the Senate Committee on Environmental Conservation on Wednesday that they are coordinating monitoring, watershed planning and targeted mitigation to limit harmful algal blooms, or HABs, and their effects on drinking water, recreation and ecosystems.
Alexander J. Smith, assistant division director for the Department of Environmental Conservation's Division of Water, said New York has documented HABs in more than 650 water bodies and has invested heavily in prevention and research. "Since 2018, New York State has invested more than half a billion dollars in projects aimed at reducing nutrient pollution to help reduce HABs," Smith said, pointing to grant programs, targeted phosphorus‑reduction plans and pilot projects testing mitigation techniques.
The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic…
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