Cyanobacteria, more commonly known as blue-green algae, has been identified in the waters of Goose Lake, according to Alberta Health Services (AHS).
Residents living near the shores of this lake, as well as visitors to this lake, are being advised to take the following precautions:
- Avoid all contact with cyanobacterial blooms. If contact occurs, wash with tap water as soon as possible.
- Do not swim or wade or allow your pets to swim or wade in any areas where cyanobacteria is visible.
- Do not feed whole fish or fish trimmings from this lake to your pets.
- Consider limiting human consumption of whole fish and fish trimmings from this lake, as, they say, fish may store toxins in their liver. However, people can safely consume fish fillets from this lake.
Visitors and residents are also being reminded, as always, to never drink or cook with untreated water directly from any recreational body of water, including Goose Lake, at any time. AHS states that boiling of this water will not remove the toxins produced by cyanobacteria. They say an alternate source of drinking water should also be provided for pets and livestock, while the advisory is active.
AHS says cyanobacteria is naturally occurring, and often becomes visible when weather conditions are calm. Appearing like scum, grass clippings, fuzz, or globs on the surface of water, cyanobacteria can be blue-green, greenish-brown, brown, and/or pinkish-red, and often smell musty or grassy.
They say people who come in contact with visible cyanobacteria or who ingest water containing cyanobacteria may experience skin irritation, rash, sore throat, sore red eyes, swollen lips, fever, nausea and vomiting and/or diarrhea. Symptoms usually appear within one to three hours and resolve in one to two days. They state symptoms in children are often more pronounced; however, all humans are at risk of these symptoms and exposure to the bacteria may be fatal to pets.
AHS states that weather and wind conditions can cause algae blooms to move from one location in the lake to another. As such, the advisory will remain in effect for Goose Lake, until further notice.
They caution that waters of Goose Lake in which the cyanobacterial bloom is NOT visible can still be used for recreational purposes, even while the Health Advisory is in place.
If someone suspects a problem related to cyanobacteria or if they require further information on health concerns and cyanobacteria, they can call Health Link at 811. Additional information is also available online, at www.ahs.ca/bga.
