MUSKEGON, Mich. (WOOD) — A documentary that focuses on toxic algae blooms in Lake Erie will have a screening in Muskegon on Thursday.

“The Erie Situation” will screen for free at the Frauenthal Theater. The event will start at 3:30 p.m. and the documentary will start at 6 p.m. There will be local environmental organizations with tables and there will be a panel discussion afterward.

David Ruck, the local filmmaker behind the documentary, said when it was shot in 2019 algae blooms covered about 600 square miles in Lake Erie.

“It’s about as bad as it can get in a place like Lake Erie,” he said.

In 2020, there was a bloom in Muskegon Lake that didn’t look as bad but was 100 times more toxic than the bloom on Lake Erie, Ruck explained.

“These blooms, they can be really bad, they can be really ugly, and they might not be that toxic. But then you could have a bloom you can barely see, and it can be extremely toxic,” Ruck said. “So it’s a really fascinating organism that can cause a lot of damage to human health and the environment if we’re not paying attention to it.”

More information about the event, called “Muskegon Lake: Avoiding an Erie Situation – Documentary Film Screening,” can be found at shows.frauenthal.org.