AHS cautions visitors to Clear Lake about blue-green algae

Alberta Health Services says blue-green algae can cause skin irritation, rash, sore eyes, sore throats, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea in people that come into contact with it. (File)

Alberta Health Services is warning visitors to Clear Lake to take precautions to protect themselves against presence of blue-green algae.

Clear Lake is located in the MD of Willow Creek, about 100 kilometres southeast of Calgary.

Blue-green algae, also known as cyanobacteria, is naturally occurring and often becomes visible when weather conditions are calm.

It looks like scum, grass clippings, fuzz or globs on the surface of water and can be blue-green, greenish-brown, brown and/or pinkish-red in colour. It often smells musty or grassy.

Those visiting Clear Lake are warned to avoid all contact with the blue-green algae blooms and to wash with tap water if contact occurs.

You're advised against swimming or wading in areas where the algae is visible, or letting pets swim or wade in those areas.

Exposure to the bacteria may be fatal to pets, AHS warned. 

Visitors should also not feed whole fish or fish trimmings from the lake to pets, and should consider limiting human consumption too, as the fish may store toxins in their liver.

Despite this, people can safely consume fish fillet from the lake, AHS says.

"Visitors and residents are reminded to never drink or cook with untreated water directly from any recreational body of water, including Clear Lake, at any time," read a Wednesday news release.

"Boiling of this water will not remove the toxins produced by blue-green algae. An alternate source of drinking water should also be provided for pets and livestock, while this advisory is active."

People who come in contact with visible blue-green algae or who ingest water containing blue-green algae may experience skin irritation, rash, sore throat, sore red eyes, swollen lips, fever, nausea and vomiting and/or diarrhea.

Symptoms usually appear within one to three hours and resolve in one to two days.

"Weather and wind conditions can cause algae blooms to move from one location in the lake to another. As such, this advisory will remain in effect for Clear Lake until further notice," AHS said.