MONETA, Va. – Officials and volunteers are preparing for another busy summer season at Smith Mountain Lake, ramping up water quality monitoring following harmful algal blooms that affected parts of the lake in 2023.
The lake, a major tourist destination in the region, saw unusually high levels of harmful algal blooms three years ago, at times limiting recreational activities such as swimming and boating.
With peak lake season approaching, the Smith Mountain Lake Association is expanding its testing efforts through multiple monitoring programs. The association operates three separate initiatives to track water quality, including its original water quality monitoring program, which is marking its 40th anniversary this year.
Program Director Tom Hardy says volunteers will closely track how conditions change throughout the summer.
“As the summer goes along, the water warms up, the algae starts growing more,” Hardy said. “That’s where we start seeing the numbers we want to focus on — how does this progress throughout the summer? How does this compare to previous years?”
Hardy’s program includes about 50 volunteers who collect samples by boat and send them to Ferrum College for analysis. Monitoring is expected to begin next month and continue through August.
In response to the 2023 blooms, the association also launched the Dock Watch program, a volunteer-driven effort aimed at tracking and studying water conditions across the lake.
Volunteers collect water samples from multiple locations, measuring clarity and depth before gathering samples for laboratory analysis. The data is used to identify the presence of cyanobacteria, which can contribute to harmful algal blooms.
“We go through each of the samples that come in and use a microscope slide, looking for any of the cyanobacteria we’re concerned about,” said Mary Colligan, co-chair of the Dock Watch program.
Colligan said several environmental factors are commonly associated with harmful algal blooms, including higher water temperatures, increased nutrient levels and reduced water clarity.
As temperatures begin to rise heading into summer, early monitoring shows typical seasonal patterns.
“As water temperatures increase, we’re starting to see more activity — more cyanobacteria and algae in our samples,” Colligan said. “So far, it’s just following the typical pattern.”
About 40 volunteers are participating in the Dock Watch program this year, collecting and testing samples as part of ongoing efforts to better understand and potentially prevent future outbreaks.