Brattleboro Reformer
CHESTERFIELD, N.H. — The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services has issued a warning for Lake Spofford for a "quite unusual" cyanobacteria bloom, and advises people to avoid contact with the water.
According to information released Thursday afternoon, Lyngbya wollei has been found in the lake, appearing as a black sludge, and such a bloom is "not typically found in New Hampshire lakes.
"The advisory is not based on a toxin evaluation and is intended as a precautionary measure for short term exposure," states the information released on the website of N.H. DES, which also advises lake users to avoid contact with the water in areas experiencing blooms and to keep pets out of the water, too.
According to Chesterfield Parks and Recreation, beaches at Ware's Grove and North Shore are not currently safe locations for swimming due to high levels of the bacteria.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, in some case, Lyngbya wollei can cause fever, headache, vomiting and bloody diarrhea in humans.
N.H. DES also advised people along the lake to keep an eye out for the cyanobacteria because
"Surface blooms can rapidly change and accumulate in various locations around a waterbody. Please continue to monitor your individual shorelines for changing conditions."According to information posted by the Center for Aquatic & Invasive Plants at the University of Florida, Lyngbya wollei is a mat-forming blue-green algae that can be found on the water's surface and on the lake's bottom.
"Mats can impede navigation and recreation, cover and smother submersed plants, and clog water intakes," states the information. "In addition, they emit a strong and unpleasant earthy or musk-like odor."
Lyngbya cells can be transferred from one
water body to another by boat hulls and bilge water, and by many animal species such as birds, turtles, alligators, raccoons, and insects," states the information. "Cells can also be transported by wind events such as storms and hurricanes that can transport water droplets or particulate matter over large distances."
Spofford Lake's advisory went into effect Thursday and will remain in effect until N.H. DES confirms that cell concentrations of the bloom have subsided.
No other information was available at press time.
