Algal blooms on Loughinisland Lake are a natural occurrence that we see every year, however last year saw the lake closed for a week due to the presence of a blue-green bloom. In an effort to improve the quality of the lake water as well as the fishing, the Directors have sanctioned the use of barley straw bales as a means of controlling this annual bloom. We have taken advice from DCAL, NIEA and the DOE in respect of the most appropriate measures to take and this option has been deemed the most productive and cost effective method that has been proven to work.
Barley straw starts to decompose when emersed into water and during this decomposition process, chemicals are released into the water that inhibit the growth of algae. Our barley straw booms have been anchored to the bottom of the lake at one end with the unanchored end allowed to be 'worked' by the wind and ripple in order to release the chemicals into the lake; 19 booms to date have been sited around the lake. It will take some time to measure the effectiveness of the booms and their siting may be a feature that all our anglers will see for several years to come.
