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PROVO — Lincoln Beach and Provo Bay at Utah Lake are under health advisories due to the outbreak of harmful algal blooms, or cyanobacteria, which can cause respiratory problems, skin irritation and in some cases be fatal for dogs.
With the summer heat and with stagnant air patterns, the conditions create a cocktail for public health risks. The Utah Department of Environmental Quality is advising residents to avoid contact with the water at those two locations.
The presence of the dangerous toxins also serves as a reminder to avoid boating, to thoroughly clean fish and to keep animals away. A health watch is also in effect for McClellan Lake, which is part of the family of Payson Lakes.
Hannah Bonner, recreational health advisory program coordinator with the Utah Division of Water Quality, said Utah Lake is the typical hot spot for algal bloom outbreaks, but there are troublesome areas elsewhere in the state.
Mantua Reservoir above Brigham City is under a health watch and the 11-acre Willard Pond is closed as a precaution due to algal blooms. The pond is a distinct water body from Willard Bay, which has had no impacts due to algae this season.
Water quality regulators do routine sampling throughout the state of recreational waterways for algal blooms and for waterborne pathogens like bacteria, viruses and parasites that can make people sick. E. coli is the chief indicator of the presence of pathogens and is the result of fecal contamination.
Harmful algal blooms result from the process of photosynthesis.
"The bacteria need lots of sunlight and it is very affected by the warm temperatures, so when we have these hot or warm, sunny summers, that facilitates this harmful algal growth," Bonner said. "The other component of the equation is the algae also needs nutrients to feed and reproduce and that is actually caused by nutrient pollution, which is a more directly caused human input."
Those nutrients — phosphorus and nitrogen — come from wastewater discharge, urban runoff, agriculture and other sources.
It's a tough problem, she conceded.
"I mean, it's hard. We can't stop the summer from being hot because we don't have direct control over that. But we can actually do substantial things to affect nutrient loading."
The state implemented a technology-based limit for phosphorus, Bonner said, and in the last five to 10 years, there's been significant strides made in the arena of water quality improvement.
"I think even Utah Lake is a good example of this. There have been a lot of of big, big reductions in point source nutrient inputs, a lot of restoration projects to reduce runoff," she said. "But it is going to take a lot of individual and community buy-in to stop that nutrient input and still be able to control or at least reduce the recurrence of these harmful algal blooms."
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said harmful algal blooms are a major environmental problem in all 50 states.
The federal agency said states have reported about 15,000 water bodies with nutrient problems, including the Mississippi River Basin that spans 21 states and drains into the Gulf of Mexico. There, the blooms have created a dead zone that cannot support aquatic life. It added that reported drinking water problems due to nitrates have nearly doubled in the last decade.
