What Causes a ‘Bloom’ in a City?

A bloom happens when tiny algae grow really fast in the water, making it change color. It's like when you leave a bowl of soup out and it turns cloudy with green stuff, that’s a bloom happening on a bigger scale.

Why Does It Happen?

Sometimes cities have chemicals in their water, like nutrients from fertilizers or sewage. These nutrients help algae grow super fast. When there are too many nutrients, the algae multiply and cover the whole water surface.

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Examples

A city's lake turns pink after a bloom because the algae are multiplying and covering the entire surface like a carpet.
When you see purple water near your school, it might be a bloom caused by lots of nutrients in the lake.
Sometimes, people can’t swim in the river because there’s so much algae floating around, that's a bloom.

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Categories: Environment · bloom,algae,water pollution,urban ecology