NEWAYGO COUNTY, Mich. —
The Health Department #10 and Michigan Department of Environment Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) issued an advisory to stay out of the water near the Hardy Dam Pond boat launch after detecting a harmful algae bloom.
Meghan Stih, environmental health supervisor with Health Department #10, said there hasn’t been an uptick in blooms this summer, but awareness makes it seem like there is.
“I think public awareness of harmful algal blooms is contributing to an uptick in the amount of responses that we've taken,” Stih said. “I can tell you that we've investigated more algal bloom complaints this year than previous years.”
The more algae reports sent to the state by email, algaebloom@michigan.gov, the more likely the health department is to test the water. Stih said it’s a complaint-based program, so the frequency of the testing is dependent on the amount of complaints from the public.
“They're kind of our eyes and ears on the ground,” she said. “So it's really important.”
There is no way to predict how much algae West Michigan might see next year. Stih said algae blooms depend on environmental site conditions.
“We do typically see an uptick in the number of [harmful algal blooms] being reported later in the summer because the air temperature is warmer, so our lakes are getting warmer later in the summer,” she said. “So kind of right right now is really when we're starting to see the most [harmful algal blooms] come through and it could go into early fall, so hard to predict for next year just depends on site conditions.”
Blue-green algae is incredibly toxic to animals. When going swimming, Stih recommends scoping out the lake or swimming area before letting pets loose.
“So really, just doing a visible check, and if a [harmful algal blooms] has been reported on that lake, you know, be aware of any advisories that are posted,” she said.
Without testing, there is no way of telling what algae is toxic or not. It can also come in a variety of colors, from green to blue-green, yellow to brown, and purple to red. It can also give the water a green sheen or make it look like spilled paint.