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Editor's Note: The National Environmental Health Association strives to provide up-to-date and relevant information on environmental health and to build partnerships in the profession. In pursuit of these goals, we have partnered with the Office of Research and Development (ORD) within the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) to publish two columns a year in the Journal. ORD is the scientific research arm of U.S. EPA. ORD conducts the research for U.S. EPA that provides the foundation for credible decision-making to safeguard human health and ecosystems from environmental pollutants.
In these columns, authors from ORD will share insights and information about the research being conducted on pressing environmental health issues. The conclusions in these columns are those of the author (s) and do not necessarily represent the official position of U.S. EPA.
Dr. John Johnston is a supervisory ecologist at ORD within U.S. EPA. His research focuses on the interface of human and ecosystem health in water resources. Dr. Blake Schaeffer also works at ORD within U.S. EPA. His research focuses on the applied use of satellite and remote sensing technology to monitor water quality.
Freshwater cyanobacteria are ubiquitous in all lakes and reservoirs. Excess growth of cyanobacteria, however, sults in algal blooms (cyanoHABs) that can include toxins that pose risks to humans, pets, and livestock, and impair drinking water sources. The importance of preventing harmful exposures to cyanoHABs is recognized globally by the World Health Organization via the promotion of safe water through mitigation of health hazards including cyanobacteria (Chorus & Welker, 2021) and the United Nations (2023) through the Sustainable Development Goal 6 that is focused on clean water for all and includes the need for forecasting HABs.
The public and professionals who manage drinking water supplies and recreational waters need tools to identify and track developing cyanoHABs quickly. In response, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), in collaboration with other federal agencies, has developed approaches for identifying,...