They Used Corn Meal To Clean Up Lakes

They Used Corn Meal To Clean Up Lakes MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT Miscellaneous 29-6-4 For years, farmers have been using bales of barley straw in farm ponds to clean up algae. Now, some researchers are getting the same results by dumping ordinary corn meal into the water. Steve McComas, an aquatic scientist with Blue Water Research in St. Paul, Minn., is piloting a new program using corn meal. Last summer he and co-worker Jo Stuckert tested corn meal on three south suburban Minneapolis lakes. The lakes measured 114, 14, and 10 acres in size. The large size of Lake Alimagnet made using barley impractical. With barley the bales have to be staked in, whereas with corn meal all you do is toss it over the side of a boat. McComas got the idea to use corn meal from his father-in-law in Texas, who said that he had heard about lakes and ponds in the South using it. "As it turns out, corn meal is a better organic carbon source than barley." Researchers say the corn meal competes with the algae for available phosphorus and will, in effect, starve much of the algae to death. That's because the microbes that break down the corn meal also consume phosphorus, which is needed by algae. As the corn meal decomposes the bacteria is released, which out competes with algae for the phosphorous in the water. McComas found the two smallest lakes showed the greatest improvement in water quality. He suspected there were too many fish in the big lake so he set nets to monitor the fish population. He found hundreds more bullhead and bluegill fish than the lake could sustain. "The results to this point are encouraging," says McComas. "There weren't dramatic improvements in a lake of 114 acres, but this lake is the largest it's ever been attempted on. The results in the smallest 10-acre lake were dramatic. I think we want another season before saying we should all switch to this. So far, it's promising."

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