Mehraneh Ghavami, Lori Bradford, Lalita Bharadwaj (2022). Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) in Prairie lakes: Response Management Planning and Risk Communications. Proceedings of the GWF Annual Open Science Meeting, May 16-18, 2022.

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are increasing across Canada’s lakes and waterways. Increased blooms increase risks to human and wildlife health and ecological sustainability. In this mixed-methods study, we assess risks from HABs through communication practices, including self-reports of receipt of communications, communication type, and cultural harmonization of communications for Indigenous peoples. Surveys (N=127) revealed lake users' exposure to HABs communications on-site, while interviews (N=12) with stakeholders and managers in HABs contexts in the Prairies revealed strategies that were in place to reduce risks. While the communication of the risk of blooms to the public may occur through alert, social media, email, newsletter, signage, radio, in-person advising, phone, web posting, and/or internet, our findings suggest that 73% of people, locally, do not receive adequate communications about the algal bloom in the provinces’ lakes and are not aware of the blooms and related health risks. As a result, few report changing their plans or taking risk-reduction strategies when using lakes and waterways in the prairies. This study illustrates a baseline level of public knowledge about algal blooms in the prairie waters and recommends better practices for environmental and governmental agencies to monitor, manage, and communicate the risk of HABs to the public.

First Author: Mehraneh Ghavami, School of Environment and Sustainability, University of Saskatchewan
Additional Authors: Lori Bradford, Lalita Bharadwaj, University of Saskatchewan