Breaking Free from Cyanobacterial Blooms: Taihu Lake's Water Quality Hits "Good" for the First Time in 30 Years
Taihu Lake, one of China's five major freshwater lakes, garnered significant attention due to a massive cyanobacterial bloom in late May 2007, which led to a water supply crisis for nearly 2 million residents in Wuxi city. Cyanobacteria are unicellular prokaryotes capable of photosynthesis and nitrogen fixation; however, their excessive proliferation can form harmful algal blooms (HABs), disrupting the aquatic ecological balance, affecting the growth of other organisms, and posing health risks to aquatic animals and humans through the release of toxins.
The
cyanobacterial outbreak in Taihu Lake is linked to the dense population, urban
areas, and industries in the basin, where pollution emissions have exceeded the
lake's environmental capacity, coupled with high levels of nitrogen and
phosphorus nutrients in the water. Prior to the 2007 bloom, the levels of
nitrogen and phosphorus in Taihu Lake had been steadily increasing, leading to
a continuous worsening of eutrophication.
Since
2007, over 30 billion yuan has been invested by governments at all levels and
society in the treatment of cyanobacteria in Taihu Lake. In 2024, the lake
underwent ecological dredging of 6.35 million cubic meters and the removal of
1.72 million tons of cyanobacteria, significantly reducing the intensity of
cyanobacterial occurrences. For the first time in the first half of the year,
no algal blooms were detected. As the ecological conditions of Taihu Lake have
improved, the biodiversity index has also reached an "excellent"
level for the first time, with the number of species in the basin increasing to
6,899. Since 2007, the association of Taihu Lake with cyanobacterial blooms has
been deeply ingrained in people's minds, but it seems that this association can
now be somewhat loosened. However, cyanobacteria naturally exist and will
continue to reproduce in water bodies. If efforts to continuously control water
pollution are not maintained, the possibility of large-scale
cyanobacterial aggregation and lake overturning could still recur. It requires sustained
and long-term commitment for river and lake governance.
Reviewed by: Richard
Editor: Sara
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