An Iowa Department of Natural Resources biologist says the agency has fielded fielding reports of blue green algae in “several…bodies of water” in the Iowa Great Lakes.
Andrew Carlson, a fisheries biologist with the DNR Office in Spirit Lake, says the blooms are common this time of year. “It’s not too much cause of concern right now,” Carlson says,”but we do want to recommend that they keep small animals, their dogs, their children, etc. out of the water at this time.”
As algae blooms die, they release gases. “Warm water is more prone to the cyano bacteria blooms like this when we have nutrient systems to being with,” Carlson says. “If you’re downwind of an algae bloom you’re more likely to see and smell and notice it.”
For those who want to swim in one of the seven natural lakes that make up the Iowa Great Lakes, Carlson has some tips. “If the water is really turbid or green or has a sort of whitish gray appearance to it, it’s probably not a great idea to swim in that kind of turbid, filthy water,” Carlson said, “but if you have clear water, you’re probably OK.”
Based on water samples taken at the beginning of July, the Iowa DNR’s website shows swimming is not recommended at the Emerson Bay Beach on West Okoboji. A mid-June test had prompted a swimming warning for Crandall’s Beach on the north shore of Big Spirit Lake due to e-coli levels, but the DNR now classifies Crandall’s Beach as “OK for swimming” after July 1 tests found no bacteria or algae at that site.
(By Ed Funston, KILR, Estherville; additional reporting by Radio Iowa’s O. Kay Henderson)