VIDEO TRANSCRIPT: Retired SUNY ESF professor says more algae blooms will appear this year.
Greg Boyer: I think this year might be a bad year
Louie Genovese: Greg Boyer has been studying water algae blooms since 1975 and has monitored 250 to 300 lakes around the New York state. In 2017, he joined a program that started looking for these blooms after finding massive levels in Skaneateles (skinne-at-less) lake. He says the program seeks to detect blooms before they happen as they are showing up earlier every year.
Boyer: They had a tremendous amount of rain that’s flushing stuff into the lake and if conditions towards the end of the summer go hot and still again then it could be another bad year
Louie Genovese : According to Boyer, six factors that cause algae blooms include calm waters, food like nitrogen and phosphorus, and excessive sunshine and rain. But it can weeks for algae to grow which sometimes make it unnoticeable, for people like Jennifer Banks she didn’t see algae which appeared in Owasco lake last summer.
Jennifer Banks: I know there was algae blooms in the lake. My sister lives on the lake, and I think it was near her. But I didn’t really see it.
Genovese: Boyer expects the blooms to peak from august to September. But he trusts the beaches to do their own monitoring and have regulated swimming areas to keep people safe.
Boyer: I think I’m more concerned about people swimming away from beaches that are not regulated and I know this is sort of a bad thing to say, but I’m a big believer in common sense.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) – Since 1975, Greg Boyer has been studying lake algae blooms all over the country.
A retired professor at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Boyer considers the summer to be the busiest time of the year for him. At one point, Boyer was analyzing samples from 250 to 300 lakes around the state. His observations suggest that these blooms are showing up earlier than expected.
“There’s probably at least six to 12 lakes that have already had blooms. So, they’re starting to show up earlier and earlier in the season,” he said.
Recently, he collected samples with a team at Skaneatles Lake in order to study bloom patterns. He says blooms can occur in lakes from a variety of factors. This includes calm waters, low wind speeds, exposure to sunlight and excessive rainwater, which provides the lake nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus that the algae needs to feed off from.
“We’ve seen sort of the same type of thing so far this year. We had a tremendous amount of rain. And if conditions towards the end of summer go hot and still again, then it could be another bad year,” he said.
Boyer says what his research tries to do is detect algae blooms before they even appear. Given many lakes across Central New York experienced closures last year it’s something many swimmers should be aware of.
Jennifer Banks visited Jamesville Beach for the first time this summer. A resident of Central New York, she recalled how she didn’t notice algae blooms that appeared near her sisters camp at Owasco Lake last year.
“I know there was algae blooms in the lake. My sister lives on the lake, and I think it was near her but I didn’t really see it,” she said.
A regulated swimming area at Jamesville Beach. Boyer says it’s important for people to stay in those areas to avoid blooms © 2025 Louie Genovese
According to Boyer, the peak season for algae blooms won’t be until August through September. He also trusts the New York State Department of Health to monitor the beaches and to handle the situation correctly should a bloom occur.
One way that beaches do this is have regulated swimming areas which he trusts swimmers to stay inside in at all times. If a swimmer does come in contact, they should rinse it off immediately. Most importantly, Boyer hopes swimmers will use common sense if they suspect there’s a bloom nearby.
“If you look at the water and you question whether or not you should be swimming in it or not, then you should not be swimming in it,” he said.