The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced that Lake Erie will witness patches of toxic algae again this summer. But this year's algae would be not that massive as it has been in 2011.

"NOAA and its research partners predict that western Lake Erie will have a significant bloom of cyanobacteria, toxic blue - green algae, during the 2014 bloom season in late summer", reads the released statement.

Good news is the expected bloom would be less than last year's widespread bloom and significantly less than the bloom of 2011 that had spread to 1,900 square miles. Algae blooms used to appear on a regular basis between 1960s and 1980s. Then for nearly 20 years, Lake Erie did not witness the harmful algae blooms.

The algae blooms made its comeback when new farming practices were introduced. These practices led a lot of amount of phosphorus running off into the Great Lake. In 2011, heavy rain increased the spread area leading to even higher levels.

Toxic algal bloom has foul smell and acts as hurdle by not allowing sunlight in the water. It also reduces the amount of oxygen in the water. Anna Michalak, lead author of a study on Lake Erie's toxic algae, shared that green slime is very harmful for aquatic life and even proves costly to economy.

It costs a lot to get water treatment done, said Anna. The International Joint Commission has called for strict limits on the phosphorous allowed to be flowed in the lake. Gary Wilson at Great Lakes Echo has complaint from Ohio and feels that it has not taken effective steps to treat Lake Erie.