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A LARGE outbreak of algae has appeared in Taihu Lake four months earlier than usual, raising concerns that the pollution may mirror last year's water crisis again in the nearby city of Wuxi, Jiangsu Province.
The blue-green algae were found in western and southern areas of Taihu, the biggest lake in eastern China, Chongqing Morning Post reported today, citing Lin Zexin, the deputy director of the Management Bureau of Taihu Area, who was visiting Chongqing for a conference.
The algae bloom usually takes place in July or August. Last year, it occurred in May, the report said.
Algae can be found widely in water bodies naturally and are not harmful in small amounts. It grows easily in polluted water and can be harmful as it produces a high concentration of nitrogen and phosphorous. An excessive amount of algae removes oxygen from the water, killing aquatic life, which then decay and release more toxins.
Taihu Lake borders Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces and covers a total area of almost 3,160 square kilometers.
The lake suffered a severe algae outbreak at the end of May last year, which rendered tap water undrinkable for one week for half of the 2.3 million residents in Wuxi.
To ease the algae pollution, the bureau began to introduce 1.19 billion cubic meters of water from the Yangtze River to Taihu starting in January, Lin said.
The move was intended to raise the water level in Taihu, speeding up the water flow in the lake, Lin added.
However, it may take at least five years to control pollution in the lake, Lin said.
Authorities have blamed pollution for last May's algae outbreak in Taihu. There were nearly 10,000 enterprises operating around the lake before the outbreak. In the mid-1990s, massive amounts of sewage were dumped in the lake.
The output of whitebait in Taihu stood at 400 tons in recent years, compared with the record of 2,000 tons.
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