Potentially harmful bloom. Use caution.

Original observations 6/30, updated 7/4.

Late on June 30th, Jerri surveyed the pond by kayak. While the bloom is light in a few areas, including the town landing and northwest sections, widespread areas of the pond show a substantial bloom of cyanobacteria dots and clumps.

Gabriel kayaked across open waters on Sunday. The blue-green algae (really cyanobacteria) is persisting for a second week.

While not all blooms are toxic, it is impossible to know which ones will be. For that reason it is safest for people and pets to avoid contact with pond water during a potentially harmful bloom.

Dr. Ken Wagner of Water Resources Service explains: “The cyanos coming to the surface bring their own P [phosphorus] supply. Once it runs out, they die out.”

Intriguingly, water clarity at the surface has remained, suggesting (as testing in past years has shown) that phosphorus levels in the surface waters are low. We are sending sample bi-weekly to the DEC laboratories for analysis. We hope and have good reason to believe that these conditions should prevent a sustained bloom at least until the fall “turnover”.

Because of the continued surface clarity despite the blue-green algae, we can also observe algae mats growing under the surface on the southeast and west sides of the pond. These should lbe removed later this week, along with the now regrown lily pads.

We hope for and have every reason to expect a return to clear conditions thereafter. We will keep you posted.