Grand Lake St. Marys may get some relief from toxic algae blooms that have closed the lake for swimming the past two summers. Thanks to a $1 million U.S. Department of Agriculture grant, the community will test a methane digester designed to turn the animal manure that has plagued the lake into energy.

Manure from nearby large animal-feeding operations flows into the lake, feeding the toxic cyanobacteria algae and making contact with water unsafe.

In 2010, the water was so contaminated, officials even banned boating. The community has lost millions in tourism dollars because of the environmental disaster.

The manure digester is supposed to convert the waste to methane gas, transforming the dangerous water pollution into a clean energy resource. quasar energy group, an Ohio-based company, expects to begin construction on the project in 2012. It will process about 60 wet tons of manure each day, with at least 50 percent of that coming from the watershed.