Blue-Green Algae Bloom in Mattawoman Creek

MATTAWOMAN CREEK - 8/14/2008

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The Charles County Commissioners and the Charles County Department of Health advises the public that an algae bloom has occurred in local waters. Concentrations of a blue-green algae, called Microcystis, have been reported in Mattawoman Creek and the Potomac River. Microcystis aeruginosa is a naturally occurring algae in Maryland's Chesapeake Bay and fresh waters. Blooms of blue-green algae may occur in nutrient rich environments and may become harmful when they occur in high concentrations or if they produce toxins.  When bathers see bright green waters, sometimes with a surface scum that resembles green paint, they are advised to take the following precautions: Do not swim in areas where a bloom of blue-green algae is evident. Do not drink water from an area with the appearance of a blue-green algal bloom. If contact is unavoidable, simply wash off with fresh water. If any skin irritation persists, see a physician or healthcare provider. Keep pets and livestock away from bloom areas.  Ingesting smallamounts of water from bloom areas should not harm pets.   Questions regarding any suspected symptoms in your animals should be directed to your veterinarian. Additional information is available from the Charles County Department of Health Web site or by calling (301) 609-6773. To report human illness from bloom water contact, a fish kill, or a fish health-related event, call the Bay Health Hotline at 1 (877) 224-4229, 24 hours a day.

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sailor_mom 8/15/2008 at 11:13 PM Human Hazard or Weight Loss So I started looking into this and saw that there were people that were actually putting this algae into a suppliment pill and selling it for weight loss. Not recommended for ingesting but there has been a huge algae bloom affecting the sailing portion of the Olympics in Quindao, China. They have been removing it from the surface and have patrols to watch for it before the start of racing each day. There are pics of these 'patrol' boats piled with the stuff on the NBC Olympic website. Reply to This Comment

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