CHIMACUM – Algae is blooming in Anderson Lake again – and showing up for the first time in Gibbs Lake – but health officials don’t yet know if the water is toxic.
“We know there’s algae,” said Mike McNickle, director of Jefferson County Department of Environmental Health.
“We know the algae we found produces toxins.
“What we don’t know is whether toxins are present in the lakes.”
Toxicity test results are expected on Friday. The results will be posted to the Environmental Health Web site: http:/www.jeffersoncountypublichealth.org.
McNickle said he will advise closing the lakes if the cell count of the algae reaches one part per billion of a water sample.
If Anderson Lake is closed, it will be less than one month after the 68-acre lake – located about one mile west of Chimicum, off Anderson Lake Road between state Highways 19 and 20 – opened for the trout-fishing season.
The popular trout fishing spot was closed nearly the entire season last year after two dogs died from swallowing lake water tainted with toxic algae.
The bacteria that grew in the lake is a type of cynobacteria, some of which can cause nerve or liver damage in high concentrations.
The aging lake, which is growing more shallow and marshy, created ideal conditions for formation of the toxic bacteria last summer, Dr. Tom Locke, health officer for Clallam and Jefferson counties, told the Clallam County Board of Health last summer.
In the summer, the water is calm, warm and is overly rich in phosphates and nitrogen, which are common chemicals in fertilizers, Locke said.
The county environmental health department received lab results this week indicating that algae blooms have been detected at both Anderson Lake and Gibbs Lake, another favorite watering hole for Jefferson County residents.
Samples have been tested weekly since early April from Anderson, Gibbs and Leland lakes.
The Environmental Health Department has detected no algae blooms in other Jefferson County lakes thus far.
Caution signs were posted outside the Anderson and Gibbs lakes on Monday that warned swimmers not to make contact with algae blooms, not to drink the water, to keep pets away from the lake water and that fish caught in the lake should be cleaned right away and internal organs discarded.
Water samples sent to a Tacoma laboratory indicate that 100,000 cells per milliliter of an algae known as Anabaena currently exist in Anderson Lake.
About 500,000 cells per milliliter of an algae breed called microcycstis is in Gibbs Lake.
McNickle said once algae levels reach 100,000 cells per milliliter of water, more tests must be done to determine if the algae is producing toxins, which both types have the capability of doing.
Unlike Anderson Lake, Gibbs Lake did not experience a rash of toxic algae blooms last year.
Gibbs Lake Park is located about two miles southeast of the south end of Discovery Bay.
No reason was given for the occurrence of algae blooms in Gibbs Lake.
