Photo: Brendan Wiltse
Recent summer-like weather triggered Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) in numerous Adirondack water bodies over the past week — Upper Saranac Lake was no exception, with a lake-wide outbreak occurring on Oct. 4. There were small and localized blooms reported in the north basin earlier in the week leading up to the lake-wide HAB that was seen on Wednesday.
The New York State Department of Health (DOH) recommends avoiding contact with the water in areas of suspected blooms and not to drink, prepare food, cook, make ice, swim, fish, or boat in areas of blooms, and keep kids and pets away.
Most research indicates that the primary cause of HABs is excessive nutrients (phosphorus and nitrogen). The Upper Saranac Foundation’s (USF) watershed management efforts are targeting measures to reduce the input of phosphorus and nitrogen to the region’s water bodies to slow eutrophication and potentially prevent blooms from occurring. Preventative measures include management of septic systems, reducing or eliminating use of lawn fertilizers, and stormwater management.
This is the second time that the Upper Saranac Foundation (USF) enacted its HAB Emergency Action Plan (EAP). Implementation of the EAP included taking water samples for analysis by the Paul Smith’s College Adirondack Watershed Institute (AWI), and submitting data to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the DOH. The USF also sent notification emails to over 1,300 watershed users and notices to USF social media followers. The USF advised lake users to be on the lookout for the blooms and of the potential dangers associated with using water and recreating in areas of suspected HABs.
HABs occur when colonies of algae that live in the water grow out of control and produce toxic or harmful effects on people, fish, animals, and birds. Contact with a HAB and its toxins can cause negative health effects. Symptoms include diarrhea, nausea or vomiting; skin, eye or throat irritation; and allergic reactions or breathing difficulties. Animal illnesses and deaths also have occurred when animals consumed large amounts of accumulated algal scum from along shorelines or when animals groomed blue-green algal scums from their fur.
For more information, see the NYSDOH and NYSDEC resources: Harmful Blue-green Algae Blooms: https://www.health.ny.gov/environmental/water/drinking/bluegreenalgae and https://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/77118.html