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Friday, 26 June 2009 |
By MIKE BURKHOLDER
Managing Editor
ST. MARYS — Levels of a toxin produced by blue-green algae continue to fall at Grand Lake St. Marys.
Samples collected June 15 showed levels of microcystin dropped significant compared to samples tested June 11. Grand Lake St. Marys Park Manager Craig Morton said the data surprised him.
“I’m definitely pleased and I wasn’t expecting it because what we were expecting is the numbers would get higher,” Morton told The Evening Leader. “Those are very good numbers and much better than I expected.
Samples taken near the intake tested at 23.3, down from 28.9; Safety Island tested at 14.4, down from 72.2; Camp Beach tested at 16.7, down from 28.9; East Beach tested at 14.4, down from 25.5; and West Beach tested at 13.9, down from 62.7. All results are significantly lower than samples tested May 18 when results ranged from 48 to 82 parts per billion.
The World Health Organization has set a moderate risk for recreational contact of 20 parts per billion. According to the WHO, the toxin can cause illnesses in humans and death in animals if water is ingested in large amounts.
“I think that we will continue to keep the advisory signs up because parts of the lake are higher,” Morton said. “If we get a trend where we go weeks with lower numbers, we may consider taking the signs down. We pretty much expected to keep them up for the entire summer, but if it changes, I’ll be pleasantly surprised.”
Despite the signs, Morton said attendance at Grand Lake St. Marys continues to remain on par with last year, if not better. Morton said fuel prices at this time last year hovered at $3 per gallon en route to record highs.
“It doesn’t seem our campground attendance has been affected,” Morton said. “I think beach attendance is down.”
Fishing and boating traffic at the lake continue to remain strong, Morton said. The EPA recently issued a statement proclaiming fish caught in the lake is safe to consume.
“Judging by what my officers say and boating incidents we are handling, lake activity is holding its own,” Morton said. “Boating and fishing seems to be pretty good.”
A week of temperatures in the 90s could cause the algae numbers to spike — something Morton said he expects.
“If it doesn’t go up after this week I’d be surprised,” he said.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 15 July 2009 )
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