Blue green algae status in Lake Ainsworth currently is Amber level and investigations into the causes and increased sampling will be in place. Care should also be taken to avoid any algae development is seen. Council will be monitoring weekly, however, if slicks or scums should develop care should be taken to avoid these areas.
Blue green algae is photosynthetic bacteria that lives in the water, it produces toxins that can pose a risk to livestock and cause health issues for humans. The only way that you can tell if algae are harmful, is by taking a samply and getting it annalyised at a laboratory.
Sampling is undertaken by Council’s environmental health officers in agreement with NHMRC guidelines and are then analysed by a NATA accredited laboratory, these results are generally available within 24 hours. Algae alerts are then issued by Regional Algae Coordinating Committees who are responsible for local management of algae blooms.
There are algae alerts consist of green, amber and red alerts. Green alert means that there are no restrictions on recreational activities and routine sampling will be in place. Amber alert mean that investigations into the causes and increased sampling will be in place. Care should also be taken to avoid any algae development is seen. Red alert means that local and health authorities should be contacted to assess the risks to recreational users and what appropriate measures should be taken to warn water users, at this point there is to be no recreational use.
Contact with blue green algae may cause skin and eye irritation, mild respiratory effects and hay fever like symptoms, if ingested it can cause gastro symptoms.
To learn more about blue green algae, vist: https://www.waternsw.com.au/
