After a less than 48-hour reprieve, multiple cyanobacteria blooms appeared off Burlington’s shores, shutting down three out of the city’s four public swimming beaches on Lake Champlain.
As of 4 p.m. Thursday, Leddy, North Beach and Texaco were all closed to swimmers, but Blanchard Beach at Oakledge was still open.
Cyanobacteria blooms can release dangerous, undetectable toxins into the water that can cause an array of health problems in humans and animals, from headaches and vomiting to paralysis and to death.
At about noon Thursday, officials at Burlington Parks, Recreation & Waterfront tweeted that staff members had seen blooms in a few stagnant pools near the Leddy beach swimming area, but maintained the beach was safe to swim in, as long as those who ventured into the lake took precautions and did not enter the stagnant pools.
But at about 2 p.m., the closure of Leddy was announced on Twitter.
At about the same time, the city also shut down North Beach and Texaco, and reminded people that they should keep their dogs out of the Texaco swimming area, which is usually a dog-friendly beach.
“Since this [is] our one designated dog swimming area, please do NOT let them in the water, as dogs are more likely to be affected by the toxins produced by the bloom,” officials wrote on the department’s Twitter page Thursday afternoon.
The city staff members are trained to monitor for cyanobacteria in swimming areas, according to the parks department website. Staff members conduct visual checks twice daily and test for toxins multiple times a week, according to Deryk Roach, parks maintenance and operations superintendent for Burlington.
Although bloom severity may ebb and flow, University of Vermont scientist Mindy Morales expects that the cyanobacteria blooms will plague Burlington for the rest of the summer.
“Like what happened this week, rain may break up the blooms,” she said. “But when the water is warm and stable again, the blooms will reappear.”
