8/19/2024
WT Staff
 August 19, 2024 updated 751 pm EDT
Algal toxin found in Lake Erie's Maumee Bay State Park, Recreational Public Health Advisory issued
Maumee Bay State Park is posted with another Recreational Public Health Advisory for algal toxin, the new advisory issued 942 am this morning by Ohio Department of Health. Water samples collected August 13 have returned total microcystins level of 50 ug/L where the EPA recreational guideline is 8 ug/L. Around the same time, an advisory also went up for South Bass Island State Park, algal toxin over the safe threshhold.
Microcystins is a cyanotoxin affecting the kidneys and liver. According to the World Health Organization, skin contact with contaminated water can lead to a skin rash. Ingestion of the water causes gastrointestinal symptoms. According to World Health Organization, symptoms may not be noticed until significant damage has been done to the liver. Dogs are especially sensitive to cyanotoxin poisoning. There is no treatment, if pets come in contact with such water they should be bathed with clean water. Follow guidance on any Recreational Health Advisory issued or beach signage posted. For health and safety, people and pets should have no contact with this water.
For background on WT bluegreen coverage, click here.
WT HAB Tracker
from the satellite monitoring program of the NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science(NCCOS) and State sources where available
Lake Erie west basin
The latest satellite image of Lake Erie West basin was captured August 19 at very high wind speed, 21.1 mph. This and the previous image snapped yesterday are mostly cloud obscured with bits and pieces of bluegreen bloom showing up in the cloud breaks. The patchy information from the August 19 image shows concentration around 1 million cells per 100 ml around Maumee Bay and North Maumee Bay, around 500 to 600 thousand cells per 100 ml in open water.
Images from last week document the bluegreen concentration in open water and near shore in Maumee Bay State Park at levels up to 6 million cells per 100 ml, no surprise a new beach advisory has been posted. See the NCCOS images here.
Ohio Department of Health has issued Recreational Health Advisories for Maumee Bay State Park and South Bass Island State Park. The ELISA test for Maumee Bay State Park sample taken on August 13 returned a total microcystins level 50 ug/L, in the area the satellite monitoring program has been demonstrating a high concentration HAB. South Bass Island State Park is also under an algal toxin advisory Monday, the level measured here on August 14 being 35.6 ug/L, this sample was collected August 14. See the latest Ohio HAB Tracker report here.
New York
The latest image of Lake Champlain was captured yesterday, Aug 18 under heavy cloud conditions. Apiece of the northeast Baie Missisquoi HAB is visible in a cloud break, the concentration down to 600 thousand cells per 100 ml. The last clear image was acquired August 14, this same bluegreen bloom on that date at concentration 1 to 3 million cells per 100 ml. See our NY HAB report here.
From NYS Department of Environmental Conservation: Active HAB reports have dropped off to 139 overnight as reports lodged prior to August 5 found their way to the archives. New to the impacted water bodies list for this season are Niger Pond in Suffolk County, unnamed water bodies near Grandyle Village in Erie County and Jamaica Hill in Queens. See the impacted water bodies list here, updates are in progress.
Louisiana: The latest upload from the NCCOS is a perfectly clear image captured August 18 at low wind speed 2 mph, Lac des Allemands and Bayou Fortier hotspots have expanded in area and increased in concentration in both water bodies. The highest concentrations interpreted from the latest picture exceed 4 millon cells per 100 ml. Lakes Pontchartrain and Maurepas remain void of bluegreen while further south, Field Lake is full of the stuff at increasing concentration, 3 million cells per 100 ml would not be an exaggeration of the status. Check out the latest satellite image from NCCOS here.
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