It’s July in Albert Lea. The weather is hot, and the lakes are green.

Algae blooms are in full swing, and neither the city nor the Shell Rock River Watershed District have plans to treat Fountain Lake this year.

In 2007, the lake was green from algae blooms before the Fourth of July and after conversations between the city and the Shell Rock River Watershed District about which government entity should treat the lake, the city finally applied the copper sulfate treatment.

This year, according to Albert Lea Park & Recreation Director Jay Hutchison, the lake treatment was not budgeted for by the City Council, so the city will not apply the treatment.

And according to watershed district Conservationist Andy Henschel, the watershed district does not plan on applying the copper sulfate treatment either.

So Fountain Lake will stay green this year.

The copper sulfate treatment is really only a temporary fix, Hutchison and Henschel both said.

The treatment bonds to the algae and pulls it to the bottom, where the algae and chemicals sit. Strong winds, boating or fish can stir up the bottom sediment, causing algae to bloom in a week or two, Henschel said.

“I don’t think it’s ever good to put chemicals in the lake,” he said, but he added that he doesn’t have the expertise or background to know if the chemicals are harmful.

In the last few years, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’ rules and regulations regarding lake treatments have increased and become more stringent, Hutchison said.

It is more difficult to get a permit to apply treatments. The city has to get 50 percent of the private landowners along the lake to sign a document allowing treatment to Fountain Lake, according to Hutchison.

Once the treatment is approved, the city can only treat half the lake at a time with a week in between. And for a period after the treatment, it is recommended that people stay out of the lake, he said.

In addition, the price of the chemicals used to treat the algae blooms is going up. Hutchison said an entire treatment costs $11,000.

“We do not have the money budgeted,” he said.

The treatment could be applied in future years, Hutchison said, but that is up to the City Council through budget decisions.

When Fountain Lake is green, he said he receives calls from landowners and community members asking for the treatment.

Henschel said algae blooms occur because of excess nutrients in Fountain Lake. It is the watershed district’s job, he said, to figure out where the nutrients are coming from and control it.

Fountain Lake didn’t turn green in a year, he said. It has taken many years for the lake to get this way and it will take many years to fix and improve the problem.

“The watershed is truly trying to fix these problems,” Henschel said.

The watershed district is working on a total maximum daily load study of Pickerel, Fountain and Albert Lea lakes. The study should give the watershed district, he said, an indication of where the excess nutrients — particularly phosphorous — are coming from and where to start implementing solutions.

“We’re definitely working on it, it just takes time,” Henschel said.