BAY VILLAGE, Ohio - Police have closed Columbia Road Beach, a popular spot for dog owners and open-water swimmers, because of a harmful algal bloom.
People and pets should not enter the water because of the public health risk, police said in a Facebook post.
Harmful algal blooms -- made up of microcystin or other toxic bacteria -- are a summer scourge in Lake Erie, especially the western basin.
The algae turns fresh water into pea soup, with thick mats of scum that can close beaches, wreck tourist fishing and contaminate drinking water, as it did in Toledo in 2014.
The scum spreads from the Maumee River, which dumps the majority of phosphorus that causes the blooms each year. But small, unrelated harmful algal blooms can pop up elsewhere in the lake, including Edgewater Beach last July and Huntington Beach earlier this summer.
This year’s Lake Erie harmful algal bloom is forecast to be slightly smaller than 2017.
Friday morning, the Cleveland Metroparks did not have conditions monitored for Huntington Beach, just west of Columbia Road Beach on Lake Road. But the USGS Nowcast had an advisory for E.coli bactery, since levels are estimated to exceed water quality standards and be unacceptable for swimming.
The Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District expected good conditions at Edgewater and Villa Angela beaches.
Just how harmful are the blooms?
Dogs are at an increased risk for death and illness resulting from exposure to harmful algae because of the way they spend their time in water. Between drinking water while playing, fully submerging and licking water off their legs and paws, they have a higher likelihood of ingesting the algae. You can see Hannah Drown’s Facebook Live on pets and harmful algae here.
Pregnant women and small children are at greater risk for illness from harmful algal blooms.
According to the Ohio Department of Health, here’s what can happen.
Drinking/Swallowing HABs-Contaminated Water
- Severe diarrhea and vomiting
- Liver toxicity (abnormal liver function, abdominal pain)
- Kidney toxicity
- Neurotoxicity (weakness, salivation, tingly fingers, numbness, dizziness)
- Difficulty breathing
Skin Contact with HABs-Contaminated Water
- Rashes
- Hives
- Skin blisters (especially on the lips and under swimsuits)
Inhaling HABs-Contaminated Water
- Runny eyes and nose
- Sore throat
- Asthma-like symptoms
- Allergic reactions
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