YUBA STATE PARK, Utah, Aug. 8, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — A harmful algal bloom “warning” advisory was issued for Yuba Lake Thursday.
The Central Utah Public Health Department issued the advisory after toxin test results from water column samples collected by the Utah Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Water Quality at the north shore showed microcystin levels of 128 micrograms per liter, said a news release from the DEQ. These values are above the recreation health-based advisory threshold.
The news release said visitors to this area of the lake should follow the following guidelines:
- Do not swim or water ski
- Do not ingest the water
- Keep pets and livestock away
- Clean fish well and discard guts
- Avoid areas of scum when boating
“Harmful algal blooms occur when normally occurring cyanobacteria in the water multiply quickly to form visible colonies or blooms,” the Utah DEQ website says. “These blooms sometimes produce potent cyanotoxins that pose serious health risks to humans and animals.
“Although most algal blooms are not toxic, some types of cyanobacteria produce nerve or liver toxins. Toxicity is hard to predict in part because a single species of algae can have both toxic and non-toxic strains, and a bloom that tests nontoxic one day can be toxic the next.”
Symptoms of exposure include headache, fever, diarrhea, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, and sometimes allergic-like reactions from skin contact.
For concerns about possible human exposure, call the Utah Poison Control Center at 800-222-1222, or your physician.
For more information about algal blooms click here.
