What is a Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB)?
A harmful algal bloom (HAB) occurs when aquatic microorganisms, primarily cyanobacteria on Cayuga Lake, grow rapidly under favorable conditions. These blooms have the potential to impact the public health with regard to recreation (swimming) and consumption.

Purpose of this Database
This database is designed to:

1. Quickly alert you to recent reports of cyanobacteria blooms (HABs)
2. Provide detailed information about each HAB reported
3. Make it possible to analyze long-term patterns of HABs occurrences.

Background
The Cayuga Lake HABs Monitoring Program was launched in 2018, recording HABs and their location, approximate size, density, genera of cyanobacteria it contained, and concentration of microcystin (a toxin created by the most commonly detected genera of cyanobacteria on Cayuga Lake). The reporting of bloom occurrences in this database is organized by geography and by areas of recreational interest, for example, parks and boat launches. Thus, Cayuga Lake is divided into 34 shoreline segments and four open water segments for a total of 38 segments used to track HABs spatially along the shore and in the open water of Cayuga Lake.

More Info & Reporting a HAB
Click here for more information about our Cayuga Lake HABs Monitoring Program. To report a HAB on Cayuga Lake, please navigate to our form.