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Algae bloom warnings lifted for five New Mexico lakes
David Garcia cleans weeds off his hook while fishing for kokanee salmon in Eagle Nest Lake in October. The New Mexico Environment Department lifted harmful algae bloom advisories for Eagle Nest and four other lakes in the state.
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Harmful algal blooms are no longer a worry for the winter at five New Mexico lakes.
The New Mexico Environment Department issued health advisories in September and October because of harmful algal blooms at five lakes in northern New Mexico: Eagle Nest, Maloya, Lower Charette, Snow and Hopewell. Those advisories were lifted Wednesday after new monitoring showed water conditions have improved.
The algae blooms appear to peak in late summer and early fall as the algae are dying off, Lynette Guevara, program manager for the Monitoring Assessment and Standards Section of NMED’s Surface Water Quality Bureau, said in an interview earlier this year.
Cyanobacteria, also called blue-green algae, is the most-frequent cause of harmful algal blooms in New Mexico, according to NMED’s harmful algal bloom website. It’s a naturally occurring part of aquatic ecosystems, but sometimes overgrowth causes harmful blooms that have the potential to produce toxins.
Those cyanotoxins can cause rashes, itching, numbness, fatigue, disorientation, abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhea. In extreme cases, they can cause death. There have been no reported human deaths in New Mexico, but there have been some dog deaths.
Although the health advisories have been lifted, NMED recommends lake visitors do not drink untreated surface water and recommends rinsing fish with clean water prior to cooking.
Quemado Lake remains closed and a health advisory is still in place at Santa Cruz Lake because of harmful algal blooms identified earlier in the year. Quemado Lake was closed after water samples turned up microcystins, a type of toxin produced by cyanobacteria, and indicated there was a potential for acute poisoning, according to a November Forest Service news release.
NMED is collecting data this week to determine if algae blooms are still an issue in those two bodies of water, according to spokesman Drew Goretzka.
Anyone who suspects an algae-related illness can call the New Mexico Poison Information Center at 800-222-1222 or the Pet Poison Helpline at 855-764-7661.
