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Daphnia, tiny crustaceans in Lake Mendota that graze on algae, and their good works are in danger. Each year their population is now crashing in the late summer as they are decimated by a voracious new predator called the spiny waterflea.
A Milwaukee scientist who has found sewage migrating from old pipes through soil and into the stormwater lines that drain to lakes or streams says the problem is likely to occur in Madison and cities nationwide.
The Yahara watershed is crawling with scientists who keep trying new ways to clean up the lakes.
“Long Lake was once a trophy bass lake. So when we moved here, in the first two years, my boys were catching bass like crazy,” said Brian Wolf, who owns a cabin on Long Lake. “It was like catching fish in a barrel as the water declined.”
Minnesota researchers have found endocrine disruptors in nearly every lake they’ve tested.
“It’s hard not to make people too worried about a lot of things,” said UW-Madison pediatric endocrinologist Ellen Connor, after running through a plethora of hypothesized health effects — genital abnormalities, tumors, lower sperm counts, diabetes, early puberty — and an equally long list of worrisome chemicals.
Endocrine disruptors have been called a “global threat” to people and wildlife, but Wisconsin is lagging behind Minnesota in testing its waters for them.