MycoRant

According to Are mushrooms the solution to the beach closings on Madison’s lakes? a coalition of local non-profit orgnizations aims to employ fungi as part of a plan to clean up the beaches of Lake Wingra in Wisconsin.

Christina Cappy, a member of the UW-Madison chapter of Engineers Without Borders and one of the coordinators for the Clean Vilas Beach Coalition, said the first solution the group wants to build is a biofiltration garden. The basic design would include a solar-powered pump to pull water out of the swimming area. The water would then flow back downhill through a series of terraces containing native wetland plants and fungi, and re-enter the swimming area cleaner than it started.

Wetland plants are already widely used to filter sediments and excess nutrients in rain gardens and other storm water projects around the country. And mushrooms – particularly oyster, shiitake, and a variety called shaggy mane – can fight a number of waterborne pathogens, including E. coli and Staphylococcus.

The lake’s beaches have had a spotty record of late with closings due to excessive algae growth and the presence of E. coli bacteria. It was also closed once after an experimental treatment to control the carp population. High salt concentrations, sedimentation, and contaminated runoff water have also made things less than ideal for would-be beach goers on the shores of Lake Wingra.

View of Lake Wingra from one of its beaches (Carol Mitchel/Flickr)

Tags: bioremediation, Lake Wingra, mushrooms, mycoremediation