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Is it safe to swim in San Francisco Bay with the algal bloom?
You’ve got most likely heard by now that an algal bloom is overtaking San Francisco Bay and tens of 1000’s of lifeless fish are washing up on seashores and round Lake Merritt. The murky soup that is the reddish, brownish colour of root beer shaped as a result of a kind of algae known as Heterosigma akashiwo is rising uncontrolled. It is among the many sorts of algae that may trigger purple tides.
It is clearly not good for the fish, however what about people? Is it secure to swim within the bay which will supply a spot to chill off in the course of the upcoming warmth wave?
State and native well being officers are advising that people keep away from swimming within the bay if they’ll see algal bloom within the water. Whereas the algae is just not poisonous to people, it may trigger pores and skin or eye irritation, stated Eileen White, a spokesperson for the San Francisco Bay Regional Water High quality Management Board, one in every of a number of authorities businesses monitoring the bloom.
“We’re recommending that folks keep out of the water out of an abundance of warning,” White stated.
Blobs of the bloom are unfold all through the bay, and so they’re rising and in addition shifting round with the winds and tides.
“If it is there, the water is a reddish-brownish colour,” stated White. “You’ll be able to inform by the look of the water. It is fairly apparent. If the water would not look good, do not swim in it. If there is not any algal bloom, then it is OK.”
White additionally suggested pet house owners to maintain canines out of the bay in areas the place the bloom is current. She stated boating on the bay is completely secure, and on Wednesday morning, she noticed crew boats on Lake Merritt.
Aquatic Park in San Francisco is a well-liked spot for bay swimming, and White stated she couldn’t affirm whether or not the bloom was on this space. A number of swimmers with the Dolphin Membership stated they’ve seen the bloom come and go right here.
“I swim 3 or 4 mornings every week for forty minutes within the cove at Aquatic Park,” Joe Illick, a Dolphin Membership member, instructed SFGATE in an e-mail. “Throughout the previous two weeks my eyes have been watering and I carry up extra mucus than regular. Nothing deeply disturbing. I assumed it could possibly be my age (87) however in fact it might be the water.”
The bloom has been noticed in waterfronts in Alameda County, together with areas resembling Lake Merritt, Alameda Grand Marina and Martin Luther King Jr. Regional Shoreline, the county’s well being division stated. The county stated it’s posting indicators at fashionable swimming areas saying that it’s extremely beneficial individuals and their pets keep away from the water till the blooms dissipate.
“Contact with the algae blooms may cause pores and skin irritation and burning eyes to people and may trigger extra harmful results to canines,” the Alameda County Public Well being Division stated in a press release.
Alameda, the Oakland Interior Harbor and Lake Merritt are the primary areas the place researchers recognized the bloom, White stated. The algae continued to proliferate and by mid-August, it had pushed into waters close to Richmond and Belvedere to the north, and San Mateo and Foster Metropolis throughout the bay. It has since consumed the southern a part of the bay crept into the central portion.