CHICAGO, IL (June 25, 2026) – Today, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced its annual forecast for the severity of the Lake Erie Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB). The 2026 projection is for a moderate bloom. In response, the Alliance for the Great Lakes is highlighting how the current reliance on voluntary conservation practices has failed to achieve the pollution reduction targets agreed to by Ohio, Michigan, and Ontario in 2015: to reduce the amount of phosphorus entering Lake Erie by 40 percent by 2025. The Alliance calls on the states to change tactics and start targeting pollution reduction funding and conservation practices to the places where they are needed most.
“We simply cannot accept harmful algal blooms as the new normal in Lake Erie. As states fail to meet their target year after year, residents are paying higher water bills to protect their drinking water, fishing industries and the jobs they support are impacted, beaches are being closed, and people experience respiratory problems,” said Joel Brammeier, President & CEO of the Alliance for the Great Lakes. “It’s time to get serious about stopping the pollution that causes blooms at the source.”
Utilizing only voluntary measures limits what states can achieve. While many farmers are adopting conservation practices that reduce nutrient runoff, the last decade has shown that voluntary measures alone are not enough to stop the algae. Voluntary practices remain an important part of the solution, but achieving meaningful phosphorus reductions will require additional action. States can make faster progress by targeting conservation investments where they will have the greatest impact, measuring outcomes through robust water quality monitoring, and addressing major sources of nutrient pollution through a combination of incentives, accountability, and regulation.
It has been over a decade since more than 400,000 people in western Lake Erie lost access to drinking water due to a harmful algal bloom fueled mainly by pollution from agriculture. That was a wake-up call about the consequences of inaction.
Launched in 2019, Ohio’s flagship water quality initiative, H2Ohio, has helped accelerate conservation practice adoption across the state. Continued investment in programs like H2Ohio, alongside additional policy tools, is essential to comprehensively address nutrient pollution, but Ohio is moving in the opposite direction. The Ohio General Assembly recently voted to cut H2Ohio funding by 39 percent, reducing the budgets of the state agencies responsible for implementing the program by more than $50 million.
“Algal blooms are a systemic problem, and they require a systemic solution across millions of acres. Missing the 2025 deadline doesn’t mean we walk away – it means we get more aggressive. The right combination of voluntary action, targeted investments, robust monitoring, and policy reforms can put Lake Erie back on track for safe and clean water for all.” Brammeier said.
Related:
2026 New Public Dashboard Provides Data on Water Pollution Flowing into Lake Erie
2022 Alliance for the Great Lakes report: Downstream Water Users Bear Financial Burden of Upstream Pollution
###
Contact: Don Carr, Media Director, Alliance for the Great Lakes dcarr@greatlakes.org