NSW Murray Regional Algal Coordinating Committee (MRACC) has provided all the invaluable information of the Blue-green Algae on this Blue-Green Algal Bloom Management website. MRACC is a public Service Committee which serves the public, water users and the Organisations who manage blue-gree Alage in the NSW Murray River catchment.

It was the Year 1878 when the first first Australian toxic bloom of blue-green algae was discovered in Lake Alexandria, South Australia.The reports of harmful blooms have been increased which are badly affecting the water use. In the Summer of 1991-1992, The world’s largest Algal Bloom was recorded at the Barwon-Darling River System. The range of this poisionous bloom was 1000 km as authentically reported by the Blue-Green Algae Task Force 1992.

The algae are a polyphyletic and paraphyletic group of organisms. They are defined in differing ways, but are usually considered to be the photosynthetic organisms excepting plants. Using the term 'plants' in its most restrictive fashion, the algae are then photosynthetic organisms excepting the sister group to the Charales (i.e. the land plants). Such a definition allows inclusion of photosynthetic prokaryotes such as the cyanobacteria. The definition applied here is that the algae is that artificial subset of the photosynthetic eukaryotes which excludes the sister group to the Charales (land plants).

Algal bloom :- An algal bloom (http://www.murraybluegreenalgae.com/algalblooms.php ) occurs when the numbers of algal cells increase rapidly to reach concentrations usually high enough to be visible to the naked eye. This high growth reproduction require favourable conditions such as high nutrient or light levels.

Many types of algae form blooms. Some of these blooms are harmless, but when the blooming organisms contain toxins, other harmful chemicals, or pathogens it is known as a harmful algal bloom, or HAB. HABs can cause the death of nearby fish and foul up nearby coastlines, and produce harmful conditions to marine life as well as humans.

Blue-green algae is the common name for several different types of algae. They are actually bacteria (Cyanobacteria) which are able to photosynthesise, hence the green colour. Cyanobacteria are bacteria that grow in water and are photosynthetic (use sunlight to create food and support life). Cyanobacteria live in terrestrial, fresh, brackish, or marine water. They usually are too small to be seen, but sometimes can form visible colonies. Cyanobacteria have been found among the oldest fossils on earth and are one of the largest groups of bacteria. Cyanobacteria have been linked to human and animal illnesses around the world, including North and South America, Africa, Australia, Europe, Scandinavia, and China. Cyanobacteria are the most common, but not the only, group of algae to form HABs.

Some cyanobacterial blooms can look like foam, scum, or mats on the surface of fresh water lakes and ponds. The blooms can be blue, bright green, brown, or red and may look like paint floating on the water. Some blooms may not affect the appearance of the water. As algae in a cyanobacterial bloom die, the water may smell bad.

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