Harmful algal blooms seen at Bailey Reservoir

The Hill County Health Department, along with the Montana Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Environmental Quality, are warning local residents to look out for harmful algal blooms as the summer progresses.

Hill County Public Health Director Kim Berg said the only harmful blooms in this area they’ve been told about so far are at Bailey Reservoir, and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks has put up signs to warn people.

However, Berg said, as the summer goes on and things get hotter they’re almost certainly going to see some harmful blooms at Beaver Creek Reservoir and Bear Paw Lake, which are frequent problem areas for the blooms.

She said if the blooms become bad enough in those areas they could be closed, but for now they seem clear. The reservoir, though, tends to be a bigger problem than the lake is once late summer rolls around.

Not all algae is dangerous, but certain kinds of algae, particularly the blue-green varieties, can contain cyanobacteria which can produce neurotoxins that can make people very ill, and can sometimes kill pets and livestock.

Berg said she’s never heard of anyone in Montana dying from the neurotoxin, but there are stories of animals, including family dogs, dying, after drinking from water with the algae in it.

Symptoms for animals include excessive drooling, vomiting, fatigue, staggered walking, difficulty breathing, convulsions and liver failure.

Humans tend to experience stomach pain, headaches, vomiting, diarrhea, liver damage, skin irritation and neurological symptoms like muscle weakness and dizziness when exposed to the algae or ingesting it while swimming.

DPHHS and DEQ say they recommend that anyone with these symptoms call their health care provider and mention they may have been in contact with the harmful algae.

They can also call poison control and report their symptoms to local public health.

Pets should be rinsed with tap water immediately to prevent them from licking algae off their fur.

The owner should also call a veterinarian immediately as well as an animal poison control center.

While the symptoms can be serious, Berg said, the algae tends to be pretty obvious to the eye. Algae with a bluish hue is often a dead give away, but it can also resemble pea soup, grass clippings or green latex paint sitting on top of the water.

Most people aren’t going to be tempted to swim in water like that anyway, she said, but if people see anything that looks like that they should just avoid going into the water completely for their safety.

She also said if the water smells bad, absolutely don’t go in.

“You should always be looking at the water before you get into it,” Berg said. “… If you’re not sure, don’t go in.”

She also said if people come across blooms, her department, as well as DEQ, is always happy when people report it and send photos with locations and dates.

She said her department can test for the bacteria and get an idea of whether or not the area is potentially dangerous, which can help keep the community informed and, consequently, safer.

“The more information we have the better chance we have of protecting our community,” Berg said.

She said local agencies are usually pretty good about getting signs up to warn about the blooms, but sometimes people just walk past, and she asked people to pay attention when they see signs, permanent or temporary.

Berg said algal blooms have been becoming more and more common in the area over the years, especially in the five years since the East Fork Fire in the Bear Paw Mountains.

She doesn’t have data to show a causal link between the fire and the increase in blooms, but wildfires like that tend to introduce nutrients to the water and burn the brush that often holds back runoff that brings those nutrients to the water as well, so she suspects there is a link.

Indeed, a surfeit of nutrients in stagnant water, along with hot weather is very likely to produce these blooms.

She said reports of algal blooms seem to be increasing across the state and there are many factors to contribute to that.

Part of it, she said, is that state agencies are just doing a better job of reporting the blooms, but another big one is climate change.

Berg said that, as temperatures are rising, the conditions for creating these blooms are becoming more common, which isn’t surprising.

She said public health is seeing more and more problems in the U.S. either be introduced or get exacerbated by the changing climate.

Florida and Texas have been seeing cases of locally contracted malaria for the first time as the mosquitos that carry it come farther and farther north, she said, and there is worry in Montana that Lyme disease-carrying ticks may move into the state soon for the same reason.