Cyanobacteria Bloom Prompts Do-Not-Drink Advisory In Salem, OR
Having detected toxins in its water distribution system since Memorial Day weekend at levels that occasionally exceeded state and federal health guidelines, officials in Salem are warning children, the elderly, and those with liver and kidney disease not to drink the tap water.
A bloom of cyanobacteria, also called blue-green algae for its colorful, scum-like appearance, formed in Detroit Reservoir, the manmade lake on the Santiam River that is the Oregon capital’s drinking water source. Salem Public Works provides water to 192,000 people in the city and surrounding communities.
Algal blooms have occurred in the reservoir in past summers, the time of year when the water temperature is suitable for their growth. But until the last week of May, toxins had never been found in Salem’s water distribution system. “This is new for us, and we’re adapting as quickly as we can,” Kenny Larson, a city spokesman, told Circle of Blue.
Salem is the latest U.S. municipality to confront a civic disruption caused by cyanobacteria, an increasingly worrisome single-celled, waterborne organism that produces toxins that cause nausea, vomiting, liver damage, and in the worst and rarest case, death. Besides health scares, municipal drinking water warnings send families, businesses, schools, and nursing homes scrambling to acquire bottled water for people and pets, which are also at risk. They also increase the cost of water treatment.
EDIT
https://www.circleofblue.org/2018/world/oregon-capital-battles-algal-toxins-in-drinking-water/
