Blue-green algae concerns province-wide

Times Reporter    

 

Blue-green algae advisories have been popping up all over the province this summer including here in Wheatland County. An advisory was issued for Eagle Lake on July 31 and on August 2 one was also issued for the Severn Dam Lake. 

Better detection method is just one of the reasons for the increase. 

Alberta Health Services (AHS) has put in place a recreational/beach-monitoring program where environmental health inspectors are visiting beaches and collecting water samples, or working with someone in various communities that will collect the sample for AHS to test for Microcystin. 

“Our surveillance is detecting these events occurring and when we find a blue-green algae either as a result of observing it visually or through the water testing then we’re issuing the water advisory,” said Zone Medical Officer of Health for AHS Dr. Brent Friesen. 

“Blue-green algae blooms are events that we see occurring usually in the summer months in Alberta. What happens is the blue-green algae produce a toxin that can cause serious illness to animals and humans who drink or who have skin contact with the water containing the toxin.”

Some of the health effects that people experience could range from relatively minor ones, such as skin irritation or a rash, but could also include sore throat, sore, red eyes or swollen lips. 

“Those symptoms usually appear within one to three hours and disappear within one to two days. The severity of the symptoms is related to the amount of time people are in the water and the amount of water they ingest,” said Friesen.

“Some of the toxins can cause more serious damage. If people were to be ingesting the water for a prolonged period it can result in damage to the liver. It can cause serious illness and it is important that people protect themselves. The toxin is heat stabile, what that means is if somebody was to take water from the lake thinking they would make it safe to drink by boiling it, it doesn’t have any affect on it, so boiling doesn’t provide protection.”

For people drawing water from lakes or water ways that have had a blue-green advisory issued it’s important that their water treatment system is capable of removing the toxin. The best thing to do is to consult with a water treatment specialist about your system. 

Studies have found that the charcoal filter systems will remove most of the toxins, but again it is important that people check on their own individual systems.

Other ways to protect yourself is to avoid swimming in water containing blue-green algae and avoiding contact with any that has washed up on shorelines. AHS also recommends keeping children, pets and livestock away from water contaminated with blue-green algae. 

There are concerns about the impact on water systems in terms of increased activity around recreational bodies of water, such as development occurring around water might increase the potential for nutrients to get into the water bodies and contribute to the development of the blooms. Friesen said there are multiple factors that contribute to the increase of the blooms. 

“In some lakes it will be a reoccurring issue, and if it reoccurs three years in a row it’s likely that it’s going to be an ongoing situation in which case we put up permanent signage for those lakes and beach areas. In other situations we’ve seen that it’s a one off event, it will occur one year and then not reoccur in terms of next year,” said Friesen. 

If AHS has issued an advisory then there is signage put up at beaches and areas where the public is known to access the beach or body of water  

The signs will sty up until the beginning of October because once the bloom has occurred it’s likely there for the balance of the season

Info also can be found on the advisories that AHS puts up by going to http://www.albertahealthservices.ca/1926.asp.