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The forecast for this season鈥檚 harmful algal bloom in Lake Erie is not as bad as it could have been, thanks to high water levels in all the Great Lakes.

Dr. Richard Stumpf with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says the Detroit River is bringing in water from Lake Huron.

鈥淟ake Huron is low nutrients. So there鈥檚 a dilution factor with this. So there鈥檚 a lot of low nutrient water flowing through," he says. "Granted, it鈥檚 in the upper part of the western basin, not the southern part. But some of that with wind patterns 鈥� they push blooms south, north. There is some mixing.鈥�

Stumpf says the algal bloom outlook this year is well below 2015 levels, when the severity index was a whopping 10.5, one of the highest on record. Last year鈥檚 severity was a 3.6, considered mild by experts. The severity index is based on a bloom鈥檚 biomass 鈥� the amount of its harmful algae 鈥� over a sustained period. 

鈥淚n a sense, we have a situation where we鈥檙e looking at a potential 7.5 bloom, but we could have been looking at a much worse bloom given the amount of rainfall and discharge we saw into the lake," he says. 

Nutrients such as phosphorus from fertilizers that run off from fields and roads into the lake feed the algae bloom.

But he says it鈥檚 important to note that the bloom is not everywhere in Lake Erie.

鈥淪o please assume you can find places to boat on the lake where there is no bloom. You can find places to recreate. Most of the places will be fine all the time," he says.

Stumpf recommends checking county health department websites for daily beach water quality reports. Resources like   monitor toxin levels.

He says the cold spring meant a late start to this year鈥檚 algae bloom.