Cyanobacterial Trends in Major California Reservoirs Using Multispectral Satellite Remote Sensing

Climate change is projected to reduce raw water quality, posing risks to drinking water even with conventional treatment. This work closely aligns with the United Nation’s 2030 sustainable development goals pertaining to clean water and life below water. We selected six California reservoirs to measure cyanobacteria, which may be harmful if ingested, using CI
cyano
data provided from the Cyanobacteria Assessment Network. Primary land class, post-fire soil loss erosion, and wildfire frequency were considered to determine if they influence cyanobacterial trends. We found a slight increasing CI
cyano
trend for all water pixels in the lake and a greater increase when only considering CI
cyano
pixels and the percentage of the lake covered with CI
cyano
pixels. Higher soil loss and wildfire frequency did not lead to higher a CI
cyano
, but land class may have a greater influence. Future work incorporating temperature and drought may help better understand cyanobacteria dynamics.