blue algae

[Lthompson]

Who have heard of blue algae and if you have warnings for it in your area lakes, do you still go out? Eufaula lake in OK has some blue algae warnings and my Boat connection doesnt wanna go out cuz he dont wanna get sick... So whats the deal? thanks by the way the eufaula warning is way up on the north tip of the lake. North of i-40. Low risk everywhere else.

[fotoshark]

Poisonous blue-greens occur in ponds and lakes throughout the world. In Canada, they primarily occur in the prairie provinces. Poisoning has caused the death of cows, dogs, and other animals. Although humans ordinarily avoid drinking water that displays a blue-green bloom or scum, they may be affected by toxic strains when they swim or ski in recreational water bodies during a bloom. Typical symptoms include redness of the skin and itching around the eyes; sore, red throat; headache; diarrhea; vomiting; and nausea. The frequently occurring `swimmers itch' is attributed to contact with Lyngbya majuscula, Schizothrix calcicola and Oscillatoria nigroviridis, which are commonly found in tropical and subtropical seawaters. The toxins responsible are lipid-soluble phenolic compounds. Since the same or similar symptoms can be produced by bacteria or viruses, one should not necessarily conclude that blue-greens are responsible for a human illness simply because the sick individual recently swam in a lake or pond that has suffered a bloom. Human death has not been documented. Reported cases affecting humans list Anabaena as the main culprit.

Googled.

http://lakes.chebucto.org/cyano.html

Doesnt sound like it'll kill ya necessarily, but it'll ruin a day by the sounds of those symptoms ...

- T.

[3MileBayWaker]

We are dealing with this problem up in my neck of the woods on Oneida Lake... it turns the water a kool-aid green color. This was last weekend...Its a very shallow lake for our region and it heats up quickly and we get these algae blooms every year...



The water isn't even enjoyable at this point, its like bath water and these 90* days it offers no relief. No we don't swim in it either, some do... but I find another lake to go on when this happens.

[brotherbrown831]

I have my Bachelor party at Eufaula this coming weekend. I really hope the algae is not to bad,, we wont know if the getting sick is from the algae or the hangover.

[boardordie]

Grand Lake St. Mary's, Celina Ohio... very shallow lake and no water coming in or going out... currently can not swim, eat the fish you catch, or let pets drink out of lake.

The blue algae has gotten so bad that the UV rays can't penetrate the 4'-6' of water and reach bottom. Since the UV rays aren't reaching bottom, they aren't killing the bacteria growing in the silt. The bacteria has now become so bad that people have landed in ICU from complication and multiple pets have died. To put it in perspective... the last time (2 years ago) I put my boat in that lake I couldn't see my toes when I was standing on the swim platform and water 2" deep washed over them.
I have friends that can't get the water line or the upholstery stain out of their boat after one afternoon on the water from last year.

[Gryphon]

This kid don't mind the algae.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/upshot/green-algae-yellow-sea-194125276.html

[kenvinlee89]

[cubbies017]

I have not heard of that. Sounds like a total buzz kill though.

[magilla]

could be worse.... you could have Jumping Asian Carp!!