Alberta Health Services is warning residents about a blue-green algae bloom in areas of Twin Valley Reservoir in Vulcan County, southeast of Calgary.
Blue-green algae looks like scum, grass clippings, fuzz or globs on the water’s surface, and can be blue-green, greenish-brown, brown and /or pinkish red. It often smells musty or grassy.
If you touch the algae or drink water that contains the algae, you may experience skin irritation, rash, sore throat, sore red eyes, swollen lips, fever, nausea and vomiting and/or diarrhea, according to AHS. These symptoms usually appear one to three hours after contact and are gone in one to two days.
Any visitors or those living near the shores of the lake should:
- Avoid all contact with blue-green algae, but wash with tap water as soon as possible if you touch it
- Don’t swim or wade (or let pets swim or wade) in any areas where blue-green algae is visible
- Don’t feed fish or fish trimmings from this lake to pets
- Consider limiting your consumption of fish and fish trimmings from this lake, since fish may store toxins in their liver
AHS says you can safely consume fish fillets from this lake, but reminds people to never drink or cook with untreated water directly from any lake – even if you boil it.
“Boiling lake water will not remove the toxins produced by blue-green algae (cyanobacteria),” said AHS in an advisory. “An alternate source of drinking water should also be provided for pets and livestock while this advisory is active.”
Areas in Twin Valley Reservoir where there is no algae can still be used even while the advisory is in place. It will remain in place until further notice since weather and wind conditions can cause the blooms to move locations.
If you have a problem to report or require further information, call Health Link at 811 or visit www.albertahealthservices.ca/bga.asp.
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