State officials are investigating an unusually large outbreak of algae in the James River at Hopewell.

Virginia Commonwealth University biologist Paul Bukaveckas noticed the outbreak, or bloom, late last week. He reported it Tuesday after test results confirmed extremely high concentrations of the microscopic plants.

"This is a very large algal bloom," Bukaveckas said yesterday.

. . .

Outbreaks of algae indicate the water is tainted with excess nutrients from sewage plants and other sources.

The algae can quickly multiply during hot, sunny periods when little rain has fallen to wash the nutrients downriver.

When the algae die, they consume oxygen, often making waters unfit for fish, crabs and other life.

An overdose of nutrients is widely considered the top problem ailing the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries.

"Algal blooms in the James or the bay or any other waters are a sign there is a problem in the water," said Bill Hayden, a spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Quality.

The DEQ has been fighting the pollution by, among other things, putting tougher discharge limits on sewage plants and factories in 2005, Hayden said.

Department officials have seen no dead fish or other signs of damage from the outbreak. But Hayden recommended that people not swim in the algae-tainted water.

. . .

VCU's Bukaveckas said the outbreak stretches for roughly 15 miles from above Hopewell to well below the city.

Bukaveckas said the algae were not visible in the main channel of the greenish-brown James, but they slickened the surface in the backwaters.

The algae appear to be on the decline now, but they could hang around in significant concentrations for weeks.

Algae outbreaks occur persistently around Hopewell. Sewage-plant discharges from the Richmond and Hopewell areas are largely to blame, Bukaveckas said.
Contact Rex Springston at (804) 649-6453 or rspringston@timesdispatch.com.