State officials are warning those planning on a trip to North Dakota’s lakes to watch for harmful algae heading into the holiday weekend.
The North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality’s has a harmful algal bloom advisory in effect for Lake Darling in Renville County, Bowman-Haley Dam in Bowman County, South Golden Lake in Steele County, and Warsing Dam in Eddy County.
The state says they’ve confirmed blue-green algae is present in portions of those waterways with blooms present over a significant part of the lakes, with elevated toxin levels found.
Blue-green algae can be harmful to people, pets, livestock and wildlife. State officials say people should avoid water that looks like spilled green paint, pea soup, surface scum, or has a bad odor. Those are signs of the more toxic algae. Other common forms of algae are nontoxic and normal to observe.
Pets should also be kept out of affected water, and anyone who comes in contact should rinse off with clean water. Suspected blooms can be reported to the Department of Environmental Quality.
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