State issues algae advisory for Poteau River near Waldron

ADEQ handout photo- Algal bloom on the Poteau River near Waldron on June 22, 2021. These toxic blooms are harmful for people and animals, causing headaches, weakness, shortness of breath and gastro illnesses.
ADEQ handout photo- Algal bloom on the Poteau River near Waldron on June 22, 2021. These toxic blooms are harmful for people and animals, causing headaches, weakness, shortness of breath and gastro illnesses.

State officials issued the first harmful algal bloom advisory of the year on June 25 after test results from samples of the green, smelly growth spotted on the Poteau River exceeded safe recreational levels.

The Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment's Division of Environmental Quality warned the public to avoid any contact with the river in the affected area between U.S. 71 and Arkansas 80 West near the small town of Waldron in the west-central part of the state.

During these blooms, people and pets are advised to avoid any water activities that pose a risk of ingesting water or exposure to skin, such as swimming, kayaking, fishing or even wading, advised Richard McMullen, associate director for science and Center for Local Public Health State Environmental Health director with the Arkansas Department of Health.

"Contact with contaminated water can make people sick, and even pets can be affected," McMullen said. "Some harmful algae, called cyanobacteria, can cause skin rash and gastrointestinal illnesses," such as upset stomach, nausea, throwing up and/or diarrhea.

According to the Department of Health, the state has received reports of people becoming ill after exposure to algal blooms in recent years, but no associated toxins have been officially linked to those reports of illness.

Harmful algal blooms are a major environmental problem in all 50 states, according to the federal Environmental Protection Agency.

The state Division of Environmental Quality did not provide an interview after several requests last week and did not answer questions regarding how many algae bloom public reports had been made or official advisories had been issued in recent years.

In 2019, toxins were too high on Lake Catherine for a short time and toxins in Brewer Lake, a drinking-water supply, were too high in raw water for infants. According to ADEQ's news releases, an advisory was issued for Lake Hamilton on July 15 of last year and remained in effect until Aug. 13.

These public advisory notifications are part of the Harmful Algal Bloom Management Plan released in 2020 by a working group comprised of Arkansas water resource professionals across the state. Previously, Arkansas did not have a protocol in place to respond to cyanobacterial -- also known as blue-green algae -- events.

The Poteau River also had an advisory issued in early August 2020 around the same area as the June bloom. That is unusual as harmful algal blooms are more often seen on the lakes, said Brian Haggard, director at the Arkansas Water Resources Center at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.

Algae are important for the health of lakes and streams because they form the base of the aquatic food chain. Most harmful blooms happen in slow-moving, warm waters subjected to a lot of sunlight, according to the EPA's website.

"These blooms can be kind of localized but can also be widespread," Haggard said. "One of the things we've noticed is they are there one day and then the next week, they're gone. They can be very episodic, but they can also hang around for a long time."

The latest bloom had already visually dissipated by Thursday near the Arkansas 80 bridge crossing where it was first spotted by one of Haggard's graduate students. The advisory had not been publicly lifted as of Sunday.

Algal blooms in general can be an aesthetic and recreational nuisance and can consume too much oxygen from the water, killing fish. According to the resource center, harmful blooms might look more like spilled pea-soup or bluish-green paint on the water's surface, and the cells may ball up into small round clumps or may take on a grass clippings appearance.

However, laboratory testing is the only way to confirm toxins are actually present, Haggard said. The resources center and the Environmental Quality Division in Little Rock have laboratories that can test samples.

The management plan recommends that a public advisory be issued if a cyanobacterial bloom is visually identified, regardless of toxin concentration. Once tested, it recommends closing an area to recreation if toxins test higher than EPA recommended values.

The center usually responds to concerns in Northwest Arkansas and since 2019 has been closely monitoring Lake Fayetteville, which sees frequent algae blooms with highly variable toxin levels. The monitoring can help alert the public when toxins occasionally exceed recommended levels but is also done for research purposes.

"With Lake Fayetteville, we're running a lot of experiments on water in that lake to see how nutrients, both nitrogen and phosphorus, might trigger the cyanobacteria to produce toxins," Haggard said.

The center also tests water samples from private landowners for a base handling charge of $5 plus additional test costs. They get one or two samples a month from people concerned that they may have a harmful algal growth.

When it comes to an algal bloom, it's better to be safe than sorry, McMullen said. Avoid contact.

"If you suspect someone has become ill after having contact with contaminated water, they should seek medical care from their physician," he said. "If your pet does get into the water, they should be washed off immediately with tap water. Don't let them lick themselves clean because they may become sick."

Suspected harmful algal blooms can be reported by emailing [email protected] or by calling (501) 682-0744.

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