One day it was a beautiful lake in Northern California, open to swimming—the next day it was covered with a toxic algal bloom. In 2016, toxic algal blooms popped up in more than 40 waterways across California. The toxic blue-green slime isn’t a new phenomenon, but the number of blooms caught everyone by surprise. Water managers issued warnings about drinking or even touching the slime-containing water. They closed lakes to swimming. Even animals were at risk from the sludge.
Now it’s a new water year. After years of record-setting low snowpacks, storm after storm is dumping snow on the mountains. Rain is falling in the valleys. But watch out, western water managers—2017 is going to be another year of algal blooms. Scientists predict tons of the blue-green, toxic slime will pop up in lakes around California and the Western U.S. But with our help, you can avoid the sludge headache.
Prediction
Blue-green toxic algal blooms are caused by cyanobacteria. During the long drought years, the bacteria bloomed all over California and other parts of the Western U.S. Then it started raining and snowing. The runoff ended up washing the cyanobacteria right into waterways. Then the weather got warm and calm, and conditions were perfect for the bacteria to bloom. Water managers, including some in Utah, had to close popular recreation areas because of the risk of exposure.
Cyanobacteria Exposure Symptoms
In humans, swimming in or drinking water infested with cyanobacteria may cause:
- rash and blisters on skin
- headache
- nausea and abdominal pain
- muscle pain
- diarrhea and vomiting
In pets and livestock, drinking water that contains cyanobacteria may cause death.
So what’s going to happen this year? Well, cyanobacteria is still growing. And it’s raining and snowing all over the West—more than last year. Snowpacks around the region are consistently more than 100 percent of average for the year. And when all this snow starts to melt, the water will pick up bacteria as it heads into streams, rivers, and lakes. You need to prepare for algal bloom 2017.
Solution for an Algal Bloom
An algal bloom is bad for water on all levels. It’s bad for managers of recreation areas that have to close because the water is too dangerous for swimming. It’s bad for agricultural water users who can’t irrigate with contaminated water. And it’s a headache for managers of water treatment plants because the bacteria causes new taste and odor problems. Algal blooms are never good news.
But there’s something you can do now to avoid the toxic sludge headache later. ATS Innova has a unique and differentiated solutions for algal blooms. With a treatment of these revolutionary product, an algal bloom will disappear. Algaecides from ATS Innova are designed for use in ponds, lakes, sedimentation basins, reservoirs, irrigation canals, treatment lagoons, and other water systems. They focus its attack on the algal bloom and won’t harm humans, fish, or animals. It’s even rated safe for drinking water.
We’ve successfully used this treatment to achieve excellent results around the U.S., including at a popular recreation site in Herriman, Utah. The treatment makes a difference overnight. So don’t wait for toxic sludge to show up, partner with us and get the solution now. Learn more here or give us a call today.
