In a recent newsletter article, Dr. Jones from Restorative Lake Sciences discussed good vs bad algae. One of the major issues that have been facing Indian Lake is an over-abundance of blue-green algae (also called Harmful Algal Blooms or HABs). A primary goal of the current improvement program is to reduce this harmful blue-green alga, which necessitates replacing the blue-green algae with more favorable algae. The lake zooplankton—which feeds the fishery—desires healthy algae such as green algae and diatoms.

In the past, most of the algal samples submitted to PhycoTech for algal identification and enumeration have shown the presence of mostly HAB algal genera. The most recent analyses, however, show the presence of healthier algal taxa. This is encouraging because it shows that the algal communities are beginning to change for the better due to the laminar flow aeration (diffusers)  and bioaugmentation program.”

The mean algal count in 2021-2022 before the recent sampling was 111,535 cells/ml—all of which were blue-green. 

On June 16, 2022, the mean was 8,417 cell/ml which is a 13x reduction in algal cell count. In addition, there is a presence of numerous GOOD algae such as green algae!


Dr. Jennifer L. Jermalowicz-Jones
Water Resources Director
NALMS Certified Lake Professional
Certified Professional Watershed Manager
Restorative Lake Sciences
18406 West Spring Lake Road
Spring Lake, Michigan 49456


Dr. Jones is our third-party consultant for the Lake Restoration Committee.

Ed Weston, Lake Restoration Committee