While lake Annecy could fairly claim to be the first lake where the threat of human induced eutrophication was identified, understood, and then successfully managed, then lake Washington repeated the process a little later, but more quickly.

It was not until 1976 that the 30 miles of trunk sewer pipe were connected up to encircle lake Annecy, and the dumping of sewage into the lake was completely stopped, whereas this was achieved at Lake Washington with 100 miles of trunk pipe by 1968. (Edmonson p37).  But fraternal rival between these lakes apart, the two found themselves at the forefront of developments in limnology and ushered in decades of intense research into what was rapidly emerging as a global threat.

The year 1951 was close to the start of a series of revolutions in biology. In 1953 the structure of DNA was discovered and that led to a much deeper understanding of life. At the same time the electron microscope enabled the study of microorganisms far smaller than an optical microscope could resolve – and understanding the structure and life cycle of microorganisms was key to understanding the evolution of lakes – and in turn the problem of eutrophication. In the late 1960s there was another major upset to the simple view of the 1950s. One group of algae, the blue-green algae, which is very common in lakes, was shown to have a structure like the bacteria. The name was changed to cyanobacteria.” (Moss p 67)

Apart from these specifically scientific developments after the war, there were other factors that drove the research into the problem of eutrophication.   Having spent the previous five years marshalling their industrial and scientific strength behind the effort to destroy each other and obliterate large parts of the world they lived in, nations turned to rebuilding a shattered world.  As economies set about reconstruction, industry forged ahead generating pollution on scale previously unknown.  At the same time peace brought about a further acceleration in population growth and the related rapid rise in demand for freshwater.  Finally, this same population growth brought with it intensified urbanization of fresh water environments and related pollution from human sewage.

And so Lakes Annecy and Washington found themselves at the forefront of a wave of discovery driven by breakthroughs in science and geopolitical developments.

One of the driving forces behind the new global response to the threat of eutrophication was the OECD who launched a major programme of international research.   As part of this initiative they commissioned one Richard A Vollenweider to prepare a report with a synthesis of the current scientific knowledge of the process of accelerated eutrophication on inland waters.  This was the first time that the trophic response of lakes to nutrient load was systematically explored.

This paper became one of the most cited limnological papers of all time and a follow up report was hailed by the scientific and management community as a “milestone”.  One immediate impact of the 1968 report was on the agreement between Canada and the US to control eutrophication of the Laurentian Great Lakes.  A major multimillion dollar program was estasblished in 1972 to reduce the phosphate load to these lakes.

Vollenweider describes what was original about his paper.  “Why did the report have such extraordinary success?  In the 1960s eutrophication was recognized as a major water quality problem affecting progressively many, and among them the most valuable, lakes, rivers, estuaries, and coastal areas.  Few scientists understood why it happened.  Some considered eutrophication as a natural ageing process, other thought it involved climatic change, and some believed it to be from increasing pollution.  Of course, these latter scientists were right in principle, but it still had to be proven scientifically that the crucial factors were neither vitamins, trace elements, nor other obscure unspecified factors."  Vollenweider continues:

"The 1968 report was not the first attempt to analyze eutrophication, but it seems that my training in algology, plant nutrition, photophysiology, limnology, geography, and mathematics, gave me just the right combination of background knowledge to succeed. In my previous studies of lakes in several countries, I became intrigued with the observation of how closely limnological properties reflected properties of the catchment basin. This, of course, is now standard knowledge, but at the time the prevailing view was still that of lakes as self-sufficient microcosms. I approached the question with the concept of lakes as open systems; also my natural inclination to search for quantifiable relationships in natural phenomena led me to analyze the literature in and related to limnology from this perspective. It became progressively clear that (1) nitrogen and phosphorus are the motors of the process, (2) phosphorus is normally the more important factor, 3) nitrogen and phosphorus load to lakes provides the basis for explainng the degree of eutrophication and (4) as a consequence control of these factors would lead to the solution of the problem."

This work led the OECD to launch a major study program that would involve as many institutes as possible. This led to the OECD Cooperative Programme on Eutrophication in which some 18 countries and some 50 institutes collaborated and in which some 200 lakes were studied throughout the temperate zone. This program had a major impact on eutrophication research and management throughout the world. The OECD never gave permission for the report to be published in an established journal whilst at the same time had to recopy the article several times to meet the demand that exceeded some 10,000 requests worldwide."

In fact new issues were arising all the time along with intensified research such as described by Vollenweider.

One such was what exactly was the source of increased phosphate loading to lakes. Clearly one source was raw sewage. But was there another. “In the early 1970s a fantastic controversy developed over the use of detergents – cleaning agents – that contain phosphate. It spread through North America and Europe and gave rise to stiff diplomatic exchanges between Canada and the United States, foreshadowing an even more acerbic confrontation about acid precipitation. (See Lake Washington story for detail).

France finally established a ministry for the environment in 1971.   One of the first actions of the new minister, Robert Poujade, upon appointment was to pay a formal visit on 2 July 1971 to Annecy to attend an exhibition “Water and pure lakes”, to celebrate the example set by lake Annecy of far-sighted management of an environmental threat.

In October of the next year France hosted the Paris Summit meeting of heads of state and government of the European Economic Community (EEC), a date often used to pin-point the beginning of the EU's environmental policy. A declaration on environmental and consumer policy was adopted at this summit which requested the European Commission to draw up an action programme for environmental protection. This (first) Environmental Action Programme was adopted in July 1973 and represented the EU’s first environmental policy.  Furthermore, the task force within the Commission that drew up this action programme eventually led to the formation of a Directorate General for the Environment.

On 11 February 1972, Pierre Moorgat,  a french cultural attaché in Turin and old friend of Dr Servettaz, wrote to the mayor of Annecy to gather all the information he could about the campaign to save the lake in order to compile a report to be submitted to the Goethe Foundation in Hamburg.  On 5 October 1972 Charles Bosson mayor of Annecy was awarded the Foundation's first ever European Environmental prize for the "Protection of nature" in a moving ceremony in Annecy castle.  Invited to speak, Dr Servettaz spoke not about what had already been achieved but what still remained to be done, specifically by enlarging the work to encompass the whole lake watershed in the basin around lake Annecy.

In July 1976 the then prime minister of France hailed Annecy's achievement with the following words (DRS 1991 p 210), which could not have summed up the situation better had Dr Servettaz written them himself and handed them to Jacques Chirac:

"The protection of sites of natural beauty is the second essential element of a political agenda for improving the quality of life.  On this matter i can say without flattery that Haute Savoie can serve as a reference point.  What was accomplished at Annecy, remains an example to us all.  The recovery of the lake and its transparency cannot fail to amaze even the most sceptical.  The educational value of this beautiful scene seems to me even more important, because it is enough simply to visit the shore of this lake, saved from pollution, to be persuaded that the theme "ecology" is not just an excuse for endless debate without action.  Success is possible.  Certainly it has to be earned, and I do not under-estimate the courage, the perseverance, and the spirit of cooperation which was necessary from a variety of local groups determined to achieve their goal.  But in the end the proof is there."

As Vollenweider clearly explained the science of limnology had even by as late as 1968 not got to grips with understanding exactly what caused eutrophication and how. Ten years earlier the community around lake Annecy organized themselves to tackle this issue not waiting to fine tune scientific proof. They could just as easily have used this lack of cast iron scientific proof as a reason for procrastination - for the endless debate without action to which Chirac referred. Instead they determined they had a sufficiently clear vision of both the problem and the solution and forged ahead with determination. And they were proved right.

On 15 August 1973 Robert Muller, director general of the UN, wrote to Dr Servettaz:

“Your book (DRS 1971) reflects the three secrets of success: love, solidarity, and a clear vision of the future. If only you knew how these three precepts are also the keys to success in great affairs of international relations! The love of our planet is insufficient. Solidarity between nations is insufficient and in place of a clear vision of the future, governments have their noses fixed on their own petty minded national self-interest and their day to day quarrels…   My dream would be that the United Nations would soon become in effect the “Syndicat International des Collectivités Humaines de la planete Terre”, in the image of the “Syndicat intercommunal des communes riveraines du lac d’Annecy” . We are getting there step by step but at too slow a pace to deal with the global problems with are unfolding upon us and which will end up affecting the lives of each individual. The success of lake Annecy is a source of inspiration and emulation, and I will endeavor to bring it to the attention of as wide a circle as possible.” (DR S 1991 p 206)

Since those days, eutrophication has emerged as an urgent issue in hundreds of lakes all over the world. Many studies have been carried out and comprehensive reports  compiled.  Just one example was prepared in Massachusetts in 2004 called 'Eutrophication and Aquatic Plant Management in Massachusetts. Final Generic Environmental Impact.' This report presents a brief summary of the science of limnology, describes procedures for lake management, and reviews case studies of lake management in Massachusetts. The major focus of the report involves problem identification, problem prevention and successful management of lakes - all areas pioneered at Lake Annecy and Lake Washington. The report reviews lake management techniques for effectiveness and impacts and provides a summary and general recommendations, noting in particular, that lake management is not a “one size fits all” process, and apparent conflicts between uses, goals, techniques and policies do exist and must be considered on a case by case basis.

As recently as February 2013 Manitoba’s Lake Winnipeg was given the dubious distinction of "Threatened Lake of the Year" by an international environmental organization. According to the Germany-based Global Nature Fund, the health of Canada's third largest freshwater lake and the world's tenth largest lake is in jeopardy due to increasing pollution from agricultural run-off and sewage discharges. 

John Lehman provides an appropriate conclusion in a review of  W. T. Edmondson's  essay “What is limnology?".   In this essay "he seeks to answer a question first made so daunting by the publication of Forel’s monographs and the subsequent growth and differentiation of their scientific substance. Arrayed against a host of basic and practical problems linked by their common involvement with aquatic environments, limnology has experienced different disciplinary ontologies in the work of geologists, biologists, chemists, fishery scientists, and engineers. Faced by the breadth of the basic sciences that practitioners must bring to bear on problems in the natural world, Edmondson concludes his essay with the discerning view that limnologists may not practice a mere multidisciplinary science at all. Limnology, he argues, is a superscience. "

It is to the enternal credit of Lakes Annecy and Washington that they pioneered the way for the rest of the world to grapple successfully with this complex science and the formidable environmental challenges with which it deals.

Continue Reading   Chapter Twenty-Seven