Toxic Blue-Green Algae

Toxic blue-green algae is thought to be responsible for the death of 2 dogs that were playing in the Salamonie Reservoir.  Blue-green algae has been around for centuries and isn’t always toxic in nature.  The best way to deal with blue-green algae is to be educated and monitor any warnings that may be out for public waters.

Blue-green algae are naturally occurring bacteria in the environment.  Not all blue-green algae produce toxins and there is no way to predict the life cycle of these types of algae.  Even though blue-green algae has been around for a long time the recent increase in incident is probably directly related to a high amount of nutrients from fertilizers, increased goose populations, and increased temperatures. 

In terms of treatment…there isn’t really anything that can be done or should be done.  Treatments of blue-green algae are not recommended as the death of this algae may be correlated with the release of the toxins. 

For more information on blue-green algae contact the helpful staff at Sanco Industries.