The Ministry of Environment says results from recent water testing confirm there is still a blue-green algae bloom in Lake Rosalind.
Heather Pollard is the District Supervisor for the Owen Sound Office of the Ministry Of Environment, and she says tests were conducted on Monday (Aug 22st).
There’s still more results to come; early next week, Pollard expects to hear from a micro-system analysis that will indicate the actual level of toxins in the water.
Pollard says privately conducted tests funded by the Lake Rosalind Property Owners Association earlier in August prompted the Ministry to conduct tests of their own earlier than planned.
The Association says results from a private lab indicate the level of toxins created by the blooms were well below drinking water standards.
But Pollard expects next week’s toxin-level results will not change an advisory issued by the Grey Bruce Public Health Unit for Lake Rosalind and the interconnected Marl Lake.
Pollard says the blooms thrive in shallow, warm, slow-moving water, and also when they are exposed to nutrients from lawn fertilizer and poorly maintained septic beds.
She says people can prevent algae growth by leaving a buffer zone of tall natural grass between their lawns and the water, that clean water run-off before it reaches the lake.
Pollard says Lake Rosalind also tested positive for blue-green algae back in 2006 and 2011, and the bloom may be reoccurring.