Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID MO-2025-Argerich

Improving HABs Monitoring and Early Warning Systems in Missouri

Institute: Missouri
Year Established: 2025 Start Date: 2026-01-01 End Date: 2026-12-31
Total Federal Funds: $24,999 Total Non-Federal Funds: $24,999

Principal Investigators: Alba Argerich

Project Summary: Harmful algal blooms (HABs) pose a significant threat to water quality, public health, and aquatic ecosystems in Missouri. Existing monitoring efforts remain fragmented, limiting the state's ability to predict and mitigate HAB events effectively. This project aims to enhance Missouri's HAB early warning and monitoring systems by integrating data from various sources, including the EPA CyANWeb tool, the Missouri HAB Response Team, the Lakes of Missouri Volunteer Program (LMVP), and the citizen science-based BloomWatch platform. Objectives include validating the EPA CyANWeb tool against field data, promoting community engagement through citizen science initiatives, enhancing surveillance for smaller reservoirs, and identifying roadblocks to a comprehensive HAB monitoring framework. The results will provide a more robust strategy for detecting and responding to HAB threats in Missouri.