Quebec has allocated $12 million to tackle the problem of toxic blue-green algae, but Premier Jean Charest says it's up to individuals and municipalities to make the biggest difference.

"Get them to act on this issue, be conscious of the choices they make in regards to pesticides, to shrubs, to the runoff, to the types of soaps they use," Charest told a Quebec City news conference Monday.

Blue-green algae can cause health problems for people and animals.
(CBC)

Although the province is offering support to help reduce the problem, Charest said it is the municipalities that have the power to bring in regulations such as lawn fertilizer bans.

Most of the new government money will go to a handful of municipalities to improve their water treatment facilities, he said.

The province also plans to run a massive awareness campaign to teach people how to prevent and detect the algae.

Last summer more than 70 of the province's lakes were contaminated with blue-green algae. The pollution, caused by erosion and an overabundance of phosphates, prevented people in some communities from drinking the water and swimming in the lakes.