Smart buoys help track Lake Erie water safety in new ways [Video]

OREGON, Ohio — When most watergoers see a buoy, they think of it as a navigational marker.

But in Oregon, the University of Toledo’s Lake Erie Center hosted a training on Wednesday for local water experts to learn about the latest “smart buoys” that will be sent out into various locations in Lake Erie during the upcoming summer season.

The buoys, which look similar to a regular buoy, have solar-powered sensors inside them that are designed to track important water safety features such as pH and toxin levels.

The sensors are going to be important for experts, too, especially with algal bloom season approaching.

“Each year there’s a harmful algal bloom that occurs in Lake Erie, and that bloom can produce toxins,” said Ken Gibbons, an environmental scientist for LimnoTech, an environmental science and engineering firm …