MONTREAL – A few summers ago Quebecers couldn’t go anywhere near a lake in the Montreal area without hearing about blue-green algae.
Now, those seeking respite with a cool dip almost never hear about the toxic pond scum – but that’s not because the problem has gone away.
Global News has discovered that the government has simply decided to stop telling residents when the toxic algae invades a lake or body of water.
Josee Brouillette only found out about the high levels in Lake Champlain when she got turned away as she headed in for a swim by a warning posted near the lake.
“I just saw the sign so we’ve noticed that people can’t go into the water,” she said.
Earlier this week the Environment Minister told Global News that Quebec has changed the rules when it comes to alerting the public.
Now, lakes are only publicly listed when blue-green algae levels become dangerously high.
“We don’t want to create a false sense of panic among the population on this issue but we monitor the situation and if there is a danger for the population we will act on it,” explained Environment Minister Pierre Arcand.
According to environmentalists, government officials are tight lipped when it comes to cases of contamination.
In part one of this exclusive report, Global News featured another beach north of Montreal near the St-Tropez campground, which was also forced to close down due to high levels of toxins.
Some residents there only found out after they purchased and moved into their new homes.
Environmental activist, Daniel Green said, “Clearly the government hasn’t succeeded in stopping the cases of blue-green algae.”
He thinks that the Quebec government could learn a few lessons by looking south of the border.
In Vermont, public awareness is a priority and interactive online maps allow people to closely monitor levels of contamination in their local lakes.
Updated weekly, the maps display current blue-green algae bloom notices and residents and visitors can sign up to receive email updates every week.
The site also uses crowdsourcing where people can report blue-green algae blooms that are not currently listed.
Eric Howe is the technical coordinator of the Lake Champlain Basin Program in Vermont.
“In some cases it is almost daily monitoring and that’s the way it needs to be for the algae blooms because they come and go so quickly,” he told Global News.
The danger with downplaying blue-green algae is that many people and animals may come into contact with contaminated water without even knowing about it.
Environmental activist Daniel Green warns, “You should not even let the dog in the water because dogs have been known to get sick and even die after exposure.”
With a forecast calling for more warm and wet weather, the number of blue-green algae blooms will likely increase and people living around contaminated water will continue to be kept in the dark until it’s too late.
To learn more about what blue-green algae is, click here.
To find out how to protect yourself from exposure to contaminated water, click here.
Sound off: Do you think that Quebec should be more proactive about blue-green algae alerts? Let us know on Facebook.
Comments