Algal Bloom

The rapid growth and appearance of algae within lakes and ponds and other freshwater environments, which have an excessive supply of nutrients present, especially nitrogen or phosphorus. Toxins can be produced as well as significant depletion of oxygen within the water body, especially when algal blooms decompose; this leads to the death of resident fish as well as harm and illness, as well as death, to other organisms which drink the affected water. This can be a potential problem for watercourses located within golf courses and other sporting environments where leaching of nutrients from sandy rootzones and surface run-off of applied fertilisers pollute a watercourse by increasing its nutrient load.