$920k grant for algae study

Scientist Professor David Hamilton has been awarded a $920,000 University of Waikato Marsden Grant for his studies into toxin production in algae.

The Bay of Plenty Regional Council lake restoration chairman, and his colleagues, have found when blue-green algae gather into blooms they rapidly increase toxin production in lakes. Some species can produce potent toxins which affect humans, through drinking water or recreation, as well as other organisms living in the water.

Prof Hamilton has been researching aspects of water quality for more than 20 years and is part of a team trialling an aeration device on Lake Rotoehu, pumping oxygen into the water to combat the harm done by nutrients and sediment that fuel the algae growth.