Alberta Health Services is urging people not to swim in the Travers Reservoir, north of Lethbridge. They are concerned that blue green algae that’s in the water could harm them.
“We’ve been here for about ten days, swimming and boating,” said Andrea Glazier who was at Little Bow Provincial Park. “We swam yesterday in the swimming area.”
In a release, Alberta Health Services said blue-green algae is a toxin that can cause serious injuries to people and animals. It said people should not drink, swim or wade in the reservoir. It also said they should not let pets or other animals drink, swim or wade in it. A.H.S. said people should not contact blue-green algae. It also said they should limit their consumption of fish from Travers Reservoir. Although algae can be moved from one place to another by wind and other weather conditions it said the toxin can remain in the water even after the algae has moved or disappeared.
“We’re concerned,” said Hans Buller. “We’ve been taking precautions suggested by some of the people that work here. They said to try to avoid getting water in your mouth. We’re cautious and we’re not going to be here very long.”
Get daily National news
Dean Goranson said he saw a patch of blue green algae near a dock.
Ryan Smith, who raises quarter horses on his farm, had to move some out of a pasture beside Travers Reservoir. He was worried the water might harm them.
“We caught wind of this via social networking,” said Ryan Smith. “Then, our M.L.A., Ian Donovan posted that it was here and going to be a problem. I called Alberta Agriculture and they advised me to get the horses off the pasture so we very quickly went down there and removed them from that pasture.”
Alberta Health Services says blue green algae can cause skin to be irritated. Rashes can also develop after contacting it. A.H.S. said people may experience sore throats, sore red eyes, swollen lips, fever, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Symptoms in children may be more pronounced because they spend more time in the water and are more likely to swallow it. Alberta Health Services said people whose primary source of drinking water is contaminated by blue-green algae can, over time, develop more serious illnesses, such as liver damage.
A.H.S. is advising people to call Health Link Alberta at 1-866-408-5465 to get more information or report a problem related to blue-green algae.
Comments
Want to discuss? Please read our Commenting Policy first.