The federal government has awarded grants totaling more than $1.8 million for projects designed to reduce nutrient pollution that helps cause harmful algae blooms in the Great Lakes.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the grants Monday.

Regional administrator Kurt Thiede says the money is being divided among five organizations that will use market-based approaches for targeting runoff of nutrients such as phosphorus. The funding will come from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, a program that deals with some of the lakes’ most persistent environmental problems.