TRAIL — For the fourth year in a row, a health advisory was posted Monday at Lost Creek Lake warning that recreational activities could pose risks because of a toxic algae bloom.
"We're recommending people not swim in it," said Jackson Baures, Jackson County Environmental Health Division manager.
High levels of a blue-green algae known as anabaena flos-aquae have been detected in the water, and health officials fear that can produce toxins harmful to humans and animals.
The advisory warns that swallowing or inhaling water droplets should be avoided, as should skin contact with water by humans or animals. Drinking water from Lost Creek is especially dangerous as toxins cannot be removed by boiling, filtering or treating the water.
Health officials advise not eating crayfish or shellfish from the lake. Anyone who chooses to eat fish from the lake should remove the skin, organs and fatty tissues where algae-produced toxins collect.
Health officials say exposure to toxins can produce symptoms of numbness, tingling and dizziness that can lead to difficulty breathing or heart problems and require immediate medical attention. Symptoms of skin irritation, weakness, diarrhea, nausea, cramps and fainting also should receive medical attention if they persist or worsen. Children and pets are particularly susceptible.
Baures said the risks from eating fish that have been in this type of water are unknown, but he advised that a cautious person would avoid eating the fish.
Since 2006, Lost Creek Lake has been hit with high levels of toxic algae every year.
In 2008, a blue-green algae warning was posted at the lake on Sept. 25 and wasn't lifted until Jan. 27. Most of the advisories have lasted several weeks.
This isn't the earliest advisory at the lake.
Baures said that in 2007, the lake was posted on June 12, slightly earlier than the warning this year.
The safest recreational activities in the lake are boating and catch-and-release fishing, he said. Additionally, there is camping, hiking, cycling, picnicking and bird watching.
Doni Swearingen, general manager for the Lost Creek Marina, said she thinks it's up to the individual to decide whether to heed the health advisory.
"Last year, my kids and I swam in it, and we're not glowing green," she said. "You can still come up and do anything you want."
She said her family ate fish from the lake and had no ill effects. Swearingen, who operates a marina, store and restaurant, said she hasn't heard of anyone getting sick from the lake.
Out in the middle of Lost Creek, there is less algae and many visitors go boating out there and swim in the water. She said most of the algae blooms occur in shallower waters.
Last year, she said the algae continued to grow into January even when lake temperatures dropped to 38 degrees.
Despite the algae bloom last year, Swearingen said her business has done well, though she said the health advisory was posted after the holiday period was more or less over.
So far this year, she said the downturn in the economy has helped business. A lot of locals, Swearingen said, are choosing to stay closer to home for their vacations. The campgrounds, she said, have remained full.
"We've had a great year so far," Swearingen said.
Jim Buck, operations project manager for the Army Corps of Engineers, said algae blooms typically have lasted five to six weeks.
Officials don't know how long this outbreak will last. They plan to watch the bloom and will retest when they see the algae drop.
Three tests at locations around the lake found about 500,000 algae cells per milliliter of lake water in two samples and 1.6 million cells per milliliter in another sample, Buck said. Health standards require a warning if more than 100,000 cells per milliliter are found.
In 2006, tests found 14 million cells per milliliter of lake water.
Buck said the Corps also has resumed water-quality testing, a program that was discontinued in 2001 because summer testing usually found little variation. Tests are reporting high levels of phosphorus, a nutrient that algae thrives on, but more data is needed, he said.
He said officials aren't aware of any illnesses caused by blue-green algae in the lake.
