The Many Sides of Algae in Our Waters - from Beneficial to Harmful

August is peak season for cyanobacteria blooms in Maryland—and we’re diving into the science behind them with one of the state’s leading experts. Join Cathy Wazniak, Environmental Program Manager with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, as she unpacks the fascinating (and sometimes frightening) world of algae.

We’ll explore:

What causes toxic cyanobacteria blooms and why August is prime bloom time
A snapshot of phytoplankton biodiversity, the good, the bad, and the slimy
How harmful algae blooms (HABs) affect coastal waters, ecosystems, and public health
Monitoring strategies and the role of citizen science in tracking water quality
Cathy has coordinated Maryland’s phytoplankton and HAB monitoring programs for nearly three decades and chairs the Maryland Harmful Algae Bloom Taskforce. This is a rare opportunity to learn directly from someone working at the intersection of science, policy, and coastal stewardship.

Cathy Wazniak is an Environmental Program Manager for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. She is the head of the Integrated Assessment program in the Division of Tidewater Ecosystem Assessment. Her responsibilities include coordinating Maryland’s phytoplankton and harmful algal bloom monitoring programs as well as Maryland Coastal Bays and offshore water quality monitoring and assessments. She earned her master’s degree with UMD Marine Estuarine and Environmental Sciences program where she studied community metabolism. She was a Sea Grant Knauss Fellow under the Assistant Secretary of the Navy Office for Installations and the Environment. She is the chair of the Maryland Harmful Algae Bloom Taskforce as well as a member of the Maryland Coastal Bays National Estuary Program scientific and technical advisory and Chesapeake Bay Program modeling committees. She also serves on the EPA National
Aquatic Resources Survey (NARS) Steering Committee and National Coastal Condition Assessment Steering Committee, the National Benthic HAB workgroup, the NASA led Chesapeake Interagency Satellite workgroup, Chesapeake Bay SAV Committee as well as the
East Coast SAV cooperative. She has worked for the Department since 1996. During her tenure she has co-authored many reports and peer reviewed articles on the coastal bays ecosystem and harmful algae in Maryland.