Days may be numbered for toxic algae bloom

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December 22, 2008

By Mark Freeman

Mail Tribune

TRAIL — U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials hope today to begin the two-week countdown for finally lifting a public-health advisory against water contact at Lost Creek Lake, which has been mired in a pesky blue-green algae bloom.

Visual inspections reservoir-wide will be done by Corps officials in hopes of seeing very little or none of the anabaena flos-aquae, which has persisted in the lake since early September.

Jim Buck, the Corps' project manager for the Rogue River basin, said there was "a noticeable difference" in water quality late last week, a week after tests revealed algae levels at 133 times higher than public-health thresholds.

"We'll visually look and see if it's clearer," Buck said. "If it is, we'll start that two-week window."

While the lake is clearer now than perhaps any time since the public-health advisory began Sept. 16, it could be its most dangerous.

The algae, which actually is a bacterium, normally releases its toxins as it dies, so water-quality often is its worst during periods like this, said Gary Stevens, environmental health manager for Jackson County.

The state Department of Human Services advises the two-week wait to allow those toxins to dissipate naturally.

The only other way to know just when the water is safe for people and pet contact is to do regular water-quality tests, which would be expensive and the lag time in receiving results could make them moot, Stevens said.

"That's the thing with blue-green algae," Stevens said. "You just never know."

The toxins can cause skin rash, dizziness, even rapid death, though documented reactions are extremely rare in Oregon.

It is most threatening to children and pets, and it congregates most in shallow, stagnant coves and along shorelines.

Swallowing or inhaling water droplets should be avoided, as well as skin contact with water by humans or animals. The toxins cannot be removed by boiling, filtering or treating water.

If people choose to eat fish from the reservoir, they should remove all fat, skin and organs before cooking since toxins are more likely to collect in these tissues, the advisory states.

The advisories were not mandatory, but few people have ventured onto the lake for boating or fishing since the advisory began, Corps officials said.

Jackson County health officials said there were no reported illnesses attributed to the algae.

Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail mfreeman@mailtribune.com.

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