(Dreamstime)

By rdnewsNOW Staff

AVOID ALL CONTACT

Blue-green algae advisory issued for Wizard Lake

Jul 19, 2024 | 4:47 PM

Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) has been identified in the waters of Wizard Lake.

AHS says residents living near the shores of this lake, as well as visitors to the lake, are advised by officials 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 it is known that fish may store toxins in their liver. (People can safely consume fish fillets from this lake).

Visitors and residents are reminded to never drink or cook with untreated water directly from any recreational body of water, including Wizard Lake, at any time. Boiling of this water will not remove the toxins produced by cyanobacteria. An alternate source of drinking water should also be provided for pets and livestock, while this advisory is active.

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, officials say.

August 2024 Incident

Charges withdrawn for Innisfail resident described as "high risk repeat offender"

36m ago

no tabulators, but we can fly to the moon?

New municipal election rules could lead to increased cost and processing time

17h ago

up for debate SEPT. 16

Review of Community Development Grants Policy sought by Red Deer city councillor

17h ago

People who come in contact with visible cyanobacteria or who ingest water containing cyanobacteria may experience skin irritation, rash, sore throat, sore and 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. Symptoms in children are often more pronounced; however, all humans are at risk of these symptoms. Exposure to the bacteria may be fatal to pets.

Weather and wind conditions can cause algae blooms to move from one location in the lake to another, so this advisory will remain in effect for Wizard Lake until further notice.

Officials note that waters of Wizard Lake in which the cyanobacterial bloom is not visible can still be used for recreational purposes, even while this Health Advisory is in place.

—

For local news delivered daily to your email inbox, subscribe for free to the rdnewsNOW newsletter by visiting rdnewsNOW.com. You can also download the rdnewsNOW mobile app on Google Play and the Apple App Store for all the latest updates on this and other stories.