Reminder to watch for blue-green algae in local waterways

For immediate release

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Kingston –KFL&A Public Health is reminding residents that blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) is a common seasonal occurrence in regional waterways. These bacteria occur worldwide and some species produce toxins that can affect animals and humans.

Blue-green algae has been found in numerous waterways in the KFL&A area over the past number of years and has been found most recently in various points along the Rideau Canal system from Kingston to Cranberry Lake. The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change has confirmed the presence of toxins in some of the blooms. Algal blooms may continue to occur in the coming weeks. On lakes and rivers where blue-green algal blooms are present, people who use the surface water, including shore wells, for their private drinking water supply should consider an alternate, protected source of water.

Blue-green algae thrive in warm, shallow, undisturbed water that receives a lot of sunlight and that is rich is phosphorus and nitrogen. Animal and human waste and fertilizers that can contaminate water contain these chemicals, which amplify the growth of blue-green algae.

Some common ways for phosphorus and nitrogen to enter lakes and streams are from runoff of fertilizer from both lawns and farming activities, and improperly located septic systems.

Toxins can irritate the skin, and if ingested, can cause diarrhoea and vomiting. At high enough levels, the toxins may cause liver and nervous system damage.

KFL&A Public Health encourages people using lakes and rivers to watch for algal blooms. Dense blue-green algal blooms may make the water look like pea soup, and can be shades of blue, blue-green, yellow, brown, or red. When a bloom is very large, algae may form solid-looking clumps. Fresh blooms often smell like newly mown grass; older blooms smell like rotting garbage.

If blooms are visible:

Do not use the water for drinking, food preparation, bathing, or showering.
Do not allow children, pets, or livestock to swim in the water or drink the water.
If skin contact does occur, wash with soap and water or rinse thoroughly with clean water to remove the algae.
Residents should not boil the water. Boiling will not remove the toxins and may release more of the toxin into the water.
Residents should avoid cooking with the water because food may absorb toxins from the water during cooking.
Home treatment systems for water may not remove toxins and may become clogged, thereby failing to remove the risk.
Do not treat the water with a disinfectant such as chlorine bleach. This action may break open algal cells and release toxins into the water.

Residents should be cautious about eating fish caught in water where blue-green algal blooms occur. Residents should not eat the liver, kidneys, or other organs of fish caught in the water.

For more information, please call KFL&A Public Health at 613-549-1232, ext. 1248 or toll free 1-800-267-7875, ext. 1248. The Ministry of the Environment’s website also provides additional information www.ontario.ca/environment-and-energy/blue-green-algae.

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For more information, contact:

Maddie Crothers, BComm, MDM

Communications and Public Relations Specialist

Phone: 613-549-1232, ext. 1543

Toll-Free: 1-800-267-7875

Fax: 613-549-7896

maddie.crothers@kflapublichealth.ca

ref: PR08302016-01