PORT TOWNSEND — Anderson Lake will open for the fishing season Saturday.
“We test the waters every Monday, and it has been clean,” said Jefferson County Environmental Health Specialist Mike Dawson.
“We’ve had a wet spring, and that has diluted the lake and kept the algae from growing.”
State Parks officials confirmed this week that the lake would open for fishing season this year.
Toxins created by blue-green algae, which are dangerous for both people and animals, have plagued the popular trout-fishing lake since May 2006, when two dogs died after drinking water and the lake was closed.
In April 2010, Anderson Lake was opened for fishing for the first time since 2008 but was closed three weeks later when toxin levels shot up as the weather warmed and encouraged the algae growth.
Weekly sampling
Dawson said samples will be collected each Monday throughout the summer and tested, with potential danger reported in time for each weekend.
Updates on the quality of Anderson Lake as well as Lake Leland, Gibbs Lake and Sandy Shore Lake will take place on a weekly basis, with results available at http://tinyurl.com/6z64ofy.
Jefferson County Public Health has been collecting and submitting water quality and algae samples from Lake Leland, Anderson Lake and Gibbs Lake since 2006.
Typically, if an algae bloom is observed, a sample will be taken and submitted to King County Environmental labs for testing, officials said.
Anderson Lake, a popular 70-acre fishing hole between Chimacum and Port Hadlock, was the site of the largest concentration of toxins measured in Western Washington when samples tested at a level of 170 micrograms of toxins per liter reading in June 2008.
A dangerous level of toxin is one microgram per liter, Dawson said.
Dawson said algae presence is hard to predict, though its growth “is often encouraged by warmer weather.”
High concentrations of toxins from blue-green algae can damage the liver or the neurological system.
Dawon said fisherman should not rely on the posted test results and should closely observe the water before fishing.
While algae itself is part of the water system, a slick green slime on the surface of any lake is a danger sign, Dawson said.
If toxins are detected and the lake is closed, signs will be posted, but this will not affect land-based recreation such as hiking and horseback riding.
________
Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
