PORT TOWNSEND — Crocker Lake has been added to Jefferson County bodies of freshwater that contain toxic blue-green algae levels that threaten public health.
County Environmental Health officials announced Friday that they have posted public warnings at Crocker Lake, where boating is allowed.
The discovery is the first time that Crocker Lake has been placed on the list of lakes with potentially harmful blue-green algae levels.
Anderson Lake was the first on the list, which now also includes Gibbs, Leland and Tarboo lakes.
No toxic blue-green algae has been reported in Clallam County lakes, said Tom Locke, health officers for Clallam and Jefferson counties.
Clallam County officials do not test for the toxins. Instead, they are monitoring the lakes through visible inspections.
Crocker Lake, near the intersection of U.S. Highway 101 and state Highway 104 between Discovery Bay and Lake Leland, already has been closed to fishing because it is in the protected Snow Creek watershed.
“It’s open to boats,” said Neil Harrington, county Environmental Health water quality programs manager.
“We just don’t want people swimming in it.”
Blue-green algae found in the lake are from the genera Anabaena and Aphanizomenon.
These algae can produce anatoxin-a that can cause liver damage or nerve impairment.
Small children and people with liver problems, such as chronic hepatitis, are most at risk from these toxins.
Crocker’s biotoxin levels are not as high as those of Lake Anderson, Harrington said, but county officials felt precautionary measures were necessary.
