Living on a lake has been close to paradise for Dave and Joy Bergstrand. The couple has lived on Lake Menomin in Menomonie, Wisconsin for 3 and 1/2 decades, but things have turned a bit sour this fall.
"You couldn't go outside without gagging. You just felt like you're in a manure pile basically," Joy said about the past few weeks. The couple was talking about the blue-green algae that has taken over Wolske Bay for the past month. "Some neighbors wore masks when they were out doing yard work. Most people just held up in their homes, windows shut; air conditioning on and tried to wait it out," Dave explained.
Scientists say aside from the horrid smell, the blue-green algae has been fatal for dogs throughout the country. Residents around Lake Menomin and nearby Tainter Lake say just breathing in the fumes has made life difficult for them. "I have a sore throat and congestion in the chest," Joy Begstrand said.
"When I'd go outside and try and get from the house to the car my throat would literally close up and I couldn't breathe," Peggy McAloon said from her home on the shores of Tainter.
McAloon said Sunday was the best day in the past month; it was the first day she was willing to stand in her yard for more than 5 minutes. She's retired, but says her "lake research" has been a full time job. She's part of the Tainter-Menomin Lake Improvement Association.
"It's basically nutrients that we need to manage. Now there are short term things we can do to make it better for the public and that's what we're asking the DNR and the state to help with," McAloon said. The organization has been successful in getting local and national lawmakers to take notice of the smelly situation and the health risks that come with it.
Scientists say little rainfall combined with fertilizer runoff and erosion are feeding this budding blue-green algae population. The lake improvement association is working diligently on both short and long term solutions to the problem.
"This should be an absolute paradise for people to come to and it isn't" she said.
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