Algae spur state to shut Buckeye Lake beach
TOXIC BLOOM
Algae spur state to shut Buckeye Lake beach
Saturday, June 4, 2011 03:08 AM
By Lauren Hepler
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
http://www.dispatch.com/wwwexportcon...s-park-eps.jpg
http://www.dispatch.com/wwwexportcon...lake-1-jpg.jpg JOSH JARMANDISPATCH
Makayla Stanley, 16, of Kentucky, left, and Adam Balzer, 10, of Lancaster, play in the water at Brooks Beach on Buckeye Lake. Both youths said they didn't see the sign warning them not to touch the water because of toxic algae.
State officials have posted signs at Buckeye Lake warning visitors not to swim, wade or swallow water at Brooks Beach after toxic algae blooms were spotted there.
The 3,100-acre lake east of Columbus is the second Ohio body of water where warning signs have gone up this spring. Visitors at Grand Lake St. Marys in western Ohio were told to stay out of the water last month after blue-green algae blooms formed.
"We are not waiting for a crisis to happen," said Merv Bartholow, president of the nonprofit advocacy group Buckeye Lake for Tomorrow. "We're looking at a lot of different options to control the algae."
He said one dredge is already operating, and measures to limit carp and geese populations also are being considered.
So far, only one of the lake's three beaches is affected, said Laura Jones, spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
"We'll stay vigilant on the other two beaches," Jones said. "We will be out testing every week."
Blue-green algae, also called cyanobacteria, are fed by phosphorus that can come from manure, fertilizers, sewage and decaying leaves and plant matter that rain washes into ditches and streams. It can grow so thick in Ohio lakes that the state has to warn people to stay away.
The toxic algae were first detected in Grand Lake St. Marys in western Ohio in summer 2009.
Last year's algae "bloom" emerged in late June, covering large sections of the lake in a thick scum that smelled like sewage and practically ended boating and fishing for the season.
In all, 20 public lakes and ponds in the state were affected last year.
The level of microcystin (a liver and nerve toxin formed by algae) found in Buckeye Lake is a fraction of what was measured in Grand Lake St. Marys. The state has no safety guidelines for toxin levels.
"I'm a bit alarmed that a reading that low would trigger the signs to be posted," Bartholow said. "That lake is our front yard and it contributes to our property values."
Jones said the advisory will stay up until no blooms are seen for two weeks.
A similar bloom was found in Buckeye Lake in 2009, but not until later in the season, said Ron Craig, president of the Buckeye Lake Area Civic Association.
Craig lives just a few hundred yards from the Brooks Park beach.
"It does raise concerns," Craig said. "Right now, the water is high. The algae blooms usually come out in the summer, when the water is low and the temperature rises."
Jones said residents and visitors should be aware of anything that looks like a bloom.
"Folks should continue using Ohio's waterways this summer," Jones said, adding. "It's about using good common sense and staying away from any surface scum."
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