[T]wo popular Burlington swimming spots, North Beach and Leddy Beach, have been closed due to sightings of potentially toxic blue-green algae in the water, according to a post on the Burlington Parks and Recreation website Monday.
“Welcome heat of summer and blooming blue-green algae,” the parks and rec department said in the post, “Due to sighting of blue-green algae at North Beach and Leddy we have closed the beaches. We are currently working with the Health Department and our staff to test and monitor the water. Updates will be posted as soon as they are available. We are monitoring other beaches as well, with updates to come soon.”
The blooms were observed by Burlington Parks and Recreation staff monitors. Members of the Lake Champlain Committee’s blue-green algae monitoring system also reported the presence of smaller amounts of blue-green algae at two other monitoring stations along the Burlington waterfront Friday, according to a news release issued by the committee Saturday.
“While most Lake Champlain Committee (LCC) monitors reported good conditions for the fourth week in a row, we received two reports of cyanobacteria low alert conditions (less than bloom levels) at the end of the week,” the LLC reported. “Around mid-day Friday (7/10/15) cyanobacteria/blue-green algae was observed along the Burlington waterfront near Perkins Pier and the Lake Champlain Sailing Center. In the mid-afternoon a surface sheen was visible in St. Albans Bay off of Hathaway Point but it disappeared shortly after it was first reported. Area monitors will be visiting these sites again this weekend so check the data tracking map for the latest conditions.”
According to a fact sheet from the Vermont Department of Health, exposure to blue-green algae can cause allergy-like symptoms, including runny nose, sore throat, rashes and skin irritation. Some blue-green algae, however, can produce toxins that can cause “sharp, severe stomach problems like diarrhea and vomiting,” as well numbness, tingling and liver damage in people or animals – but only if ingested, according to the fact sheet.
Blooms can be identified by their distinctive appearance – they typically look like blue or green paint spilled across the surface of the water and form a foamy layer by the shoreline. VDH has published a gallery of images to help Vermonters distinguish the potentially dangerous blue-green algae from harmless green algae or pollen deposits.
For more information about blue-green algae blooms, or to report an algae sighting, contact your town health officer or email AHS.VDHBlueGreenAlgae@state.vt.us to report a bloom.
