Saturday, September 30, 2017

September 2017 Algae Blooms on Owasco

Algae Update: Sept. 30, 2017 excerpt from the Auburn Citizen:

Latest test results released by the Cayuga County Health Department show the highest levels of harmful algal bloom toxins entering the city of Auburn's water treatment plant this season.

After the Owasco Lake water flowed through the city's toxin treatment system and the filtration plant, no toxins were detected in the drinking water.

According to the health department's website, 0.25 micrograms per liter of microcystin, a kind of liver toxin present in some harmful algal blooms, was detected in the raw lake water from samples collected Wednesday. The last time toxins were detected in the raw water, levels were 0.18 and 0.16 micrograms per liter on Aug. 31 and Sept. 18, respectively.

All of those detections are below the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's level of concern for vulnerable populations — 0.3 micrograms per liter over 10 days.

The town of Owasco continues to show no toxins detected in both the drinking water and the untreated water.

link to 2017 Owasco Watershed Inspection HAB testing results: http://www.owascoinspection.org/2017-hab-program


Recent Algae bloom pictures (from Auburn Citizen)


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