Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Hood College to Help National Park Service Fight Harmful Algae in Washington, DC

  • 12/11/19

FREDERICK, MD – Hood College’s Center for Coastal and Watershed Studies has been awarded a cooperative agreement with the National Park Service to research methods of mitigating cyanobacteria blooms in the constructed lake at Constitution Gardens, a large catchment in Washington, DC.

Potentially toxic cyanobacteria grew in high concentrations in the lake in summer 2018, and the lake has experienced other toxin-producing blooms in the past that have killed fish and produced noxious odors. Nutrients and defecation from wildlife are among the substances that enter the lake via runoff from precipitation events. That, combined with stagnant water and summer heating, create an optimal habitat for these cyanobacteria.

Hood College staff will help decide which treatment(s) is best for this lake. After a treatment is deployed, Hood will monitor water quality and algae and cyanobacteria growth at multiple locations in the lake monthly during the growing season from April through October and every other month from November through March.

Drew Ferrier, director of Hood College’s Center for Coastal and Watershed Studies, says, “We look forward to working with the National Park Service to find ways of controlling harmful and unsightly algal blooms in this beautiful garden.”

About Hood College
Hood College is an independent liberal arts college, offering 28 bachelor’s degrees, four pre-professional programs, 19 master’s degrees programs, two doctorates and 10 post-baccalaureate certificates. Located in historic Frederick, near Washington, D.C., Baltimore and the I-270 technology corridor, Hood gives students access to countless internships and research opportunities.

Featured

  • Round Rock ISD Completes New Early College High School

    Round Rock ISD near Austin, Texas, recently announced that construction is complete on a new, 46,500-square-foot campus for Early College High School, according to a news release. The new facility will allow the school’s students and staff to move from portables into a permanent building and increase its enrollment to 500.

  • University of Arizona Approves New Residence Hall

    The Arizona Board of Regents recently approved plans for a new residence hall at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Ariz., according to a news release. The new facility is scheduled to open in fall 2028 and have the capacity for more than 1,200 students, enforcing a new university expectation that all first-year students live on campus.

  • Houston-Area High School Breaks Ground on 117,000SF Multi-Use Facility

    North Shore Senior High School, part of Galena Park ISD in Houston, Texas, recently broke ground on a new multi-use facility for student extracurriculars, according to a news release. The North Shore Multi-Use Facility will include dedicated practice and training space for the school’s athletics and fine arts programs.

  • How a Portable Sink Helped an Art Classroom Run More Smoothly

    Classroom design decisions can have outsized effects on instructional time and safety at schools juggling mismatched infrastructure, strict budgets, and crowded schedules — particularly in the arts. Between spilled paint and dirty brushes, art classes run smoother with a sink in the studio. But many schools don’t have a sink in every art classroom.