Rochester's Center for Environmental Information has received a $255,000 federal stimulus grant to study the sources of phosphorus, a potentially damaging pollutant, in tributaries of Lake Ontario.
Phosphorus, much of it from fertilizers and other man-made sources, is a valuable aquatic nutrient in small doses. However, it is accumulating near the shore in higher levels, where it has fueled a resurgence of nuisance algae.
The center will try to detail the sources of phosphorus in certain rivers, creeks and other water bodies that flow into Lake Ontario and are known to be rich in that pollutant. [Read More]