PORT TOWNSEND — Samples of water in four Jefferson County lakes showed no change this week from last week in biotoxin levels, county environmental health officials said after weekly test results were received on Thursday.
The level of the toxins produced by blue-green algae, which can cause liver damage or impair nerves, remains especially high at Anderson Lake.
That lake, which is near Port Hadlock, was closed two weeks ago to boating, with county Environmental Health Director Andrew Shogren warning against coming in contact with the water.
Anderson Lake State Park remains open for recreational uses outside the lake.
County Public Health officials have removed warning signs from Teal Lake, west of Paradise Bay, which has been cleared of any algae presence.
Elevated levels of toxic blue-green algae remain at Lake Leland, north of Quilcene, and Gibbs Lake, near Chimacum.
Users should not drink the water from those lakes, swim in them or eat fish from them, health officials said.
Moderate blooms of potentially toxic blue-green algae are present in Tarboo Lake, north of Quilcene.
The lake is unsafe for drinking water, said health officials, but it can be used for recreation with some simple cautions: Small children and pets should stay out of the water, and fish caught for consumption should be cleaned in fresh water with the organs and skin discarded.
No toxic blue-green algae has been reported in Clallam County lakes, said Tom Locke, health officer for Clallam and Jefferson counties.
Clallam County officials do not test for the toxins.
Instead, they are monitoring the lakes through visible inspections.
Blue-green algae can produce anatoxin-a.
It is not know why some blooms of algae begin to produce the toxin,
Algae blooms, which occur naturally, are fed by an overload of nutrients such as nitrogen or phosphorous.
Possible sources of such nutrients include fertilizer or human or animal waste.
To report an algae bloom in a lake in Jefferson County that is not already listed, phone Public Health at 360-385-9444.
In Clallam County, the Environmental Health office can be reached at 360-417-2258.
