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2020 Statewide Harmful Algal Bloom Program

The 2020 HAB Program will again consist of two primary components: a "Routine Monitoring" component and an "Event Response" component. The Routine Monitoring component will target a subset of Illinois inland lake drinking-water intakes and beaches; and a subset of Lake Michigan drinking-water intakes, expanded nearshore stations, and harbors. The Event Response component will focus primarily on investigating blooms in publicly owned lakes with multiple lake uses or in Illinois rivers or streams where blooms could affect public health. All samples collected in the HAB program will be sent to the Illinois EPA Division of Laboratories for analysis. Recreational samples will be analyzed for Microcystins. Samples collected near public-water-supply intake locations will be analyzed for cylindrospermopsin, in addition to microcystins. Both toxins are analyzed using the Enzyme-Linked-Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) method.

The Routine Monitoring Component

The Routine Monitoring Component consists of five targeted sampling locations:

  1. Subset of Inland-Lake Beaches Monitored under Illinois EPA's Ambient Lake Monitoring Program (ALMP)
    Illinois EPA biologists will collect one sample per month during July , August, and October at six inland-lake beaches in the northern region and nine inland-lake beaches in the southern region.
  2. Subset of Public-Water-Supply Intakes Monitored under Illinois EPA's Ambient Lake Monitoring Program (ALMP)
    Illinois EPA biologists will collect one sample per month during July, August, and October near each of eight public-water-supply intakes in the southern region.
  3. Subset of Lake County Inland-Lake Beaches
    Lake County Health Department staff will collect one sample approximately every two weeks at each of eleven Lake County inland-lake beaches from Memorial Day (May 25, 2020) through Labor Day (Sept. 7, 2020).
  4. Subset of Fox River Stations
    Illinois EPA biologists or USGS biologists (under contractual assistance) will collect one sample approximately every six weeks, at each of four Fox River stations (DT-06, DT-09, DT-22, DT-38), during the months of July through October.
  5. Subset of Lake Michigan Public-Water-Supply Intakes, Harbors, and Nearshore Stations
    Illinois EPA biologists will collect at least one sample at each of three Lake Michigan PWS intakes, at each of four Lake Michigan harbor stations, and at each of five Lake Michigan expanded nearshore stations during the months of August through October. The actual sampling frequency and total number of samples collected in Lake Michigan during 2020 will be dependent on weather conditions. 

The Event Response Component

The Event Response component includes an investigation (as resources allow) of credible reports of HAB events by Illinois EPA professional field staff or other Illinois EPA-approved designated parties. A credible report of a HAB event includes direct observation by Illinois EPA field staff or written and pictorial information contained within a properly submitted Bloom Report Form or a bloom report submitted through the bloomWatch App.

  1. Direct Observation at an Illinois EPA Ambient Lake or Stream
    Illinois EPA field staff will collect a sample for microcystins when they have directly observed a cyanobacterial bloom in a lake or stream during a routine visit.
  2. Response to a Bloom Report Form Submitted to the EPA.HAB Email Address or to the bloomWatch App.
    Illinois EPA will review all Bloom Report forms submitted; however, the ability to initiate follow-up activities will be dependent on time and resources of Illinois EPA staff at the time of the submittal. Priority will be given to publicly owned lakes with multiple lake uses. If the Bloom Report form and photos support the presence of a blue-green algal bloom, a HAB responder may be sent to investigate the bloom.

For all samples collected in response to an actual cyanobacterial bloom, samples will be screened within 24-36 hours of collection using a microcystin strip test kit. The sample may also be screened for cylindrospermopsin at the discretion of the biologist collecting the sample. The sample is then sent to the Illinois EPA laboratory for quantitative analysis of microcystins and possibly for cylindrospermopsin using the enzyme-linked-immunosorbent assay (ELISA)method. When results indicate toxin concentrations that exceed specific thresholds for recreation or drinking water, appropriate lake management personnel and Illinois EPA staff will be notified. Follow-up monitoring by the Illinois EPA may occur as professional judgment dictates and staff, laboratory, and financial resources allow.

Historical HAB Program Information

2019 Statewide Harmful Algal Bloom Program
2018 Statewide Harmful Algal Bloom Program
2017 Statewide Harmful Algal Bloom Program 
2016 Statewide Harmful Algal Bloom Program
2015 Statewide Harmful Algal Bloom program
2014 Statewide Harmful Algal Bloom Program
2013 Statewide Harmful Algal Bloom Program
2012 Drought and HAB Reconnaissance Monitoring Effort
Working Together Toward a Statewide Harmful Algal Bloom Program
Blue-Green Algal Toxins in the Ohio River