Algae holds steady, but milfoil growing
Interior Health says it is continuing to monitor a large algae bloom discovered in Wood Lake last month.
While the latest water samples taken from the lake on July 5 show no signs of toxins, the health authority is continuing to advise the public not to drink water from the lake, not to swim in it and to keep pets and livestock from drinking from the lake.
It is warning the public to avoid all contact with the algae bloom and says if anyone does come in contact with it, they should rinse their body with clean water immediately.
In early June, Interior Health announced the discovery of the large blue-green algae bloom and advised anyone visiting Wood Lake to stay out of the water.
Weekly water testing has been done since the discovery and toxins have not been detected, according to IH.
Swimming or drinking algae bloom-affected water can cause headaches, nausea, fever, muscle aches, mouth ulcers, red skin, sore throat, cramps and diarrhea.
Meanwhile, the Okanagan Basin Water Board says milfoil growth in local lakes appears to be more abundant than normal this year, possibly due, in part, to lower water levels and warmer water temperatures.
Milfoil harvesting is now underway in Osoyoos Lake in the Vernon arm of Okanagan Lake.
The board says the plan is to complete the removal work in Okanagan Lake before lower water levels make it more difficult to harvest. Once that work is complete, harvesting will start in Wood Lake, site of the large algae bloom.
In other water-related news, the OBWB is calling on the province to introduce stronger protection measures for drinking water sources in B.C.
The board is sending a letter to the provincial government calling for those measures, as well as provide a status report on source water protection legislation. The board wants a lead agency created in B.C. for source water protection and permanent funding for watershed security and source water protection.
It also wants the province to consider and acknowledge Indigenous values consistent with the province’s commitment under the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. At its recent meeting, the OBWB passed a resolution supporting the establishment of a working group to integrate the spirit of the UNDRIP and the rights and responsibilities of the syilx peoples into the board, and committed to working with local Indigenous groups on water issues.
It noted the recently released syilx water strategy contains many shared values and priorities for water with the board.
The OBWB has also relaunched two of its signature summer campaigns — Make Water Work and Don’t Move A Mussel.
Make Water Work aims at helping valley residents conserve water through information and education. This year, residents who pledge at MakeWaterWork.ca or post their pledge on Facebook or Instagram will be entered to win one of two $750 WaterWise yard upgrades.
The Don’t Move a Mussel campaign, now in its ninth year, is a bid to keep invasive zebra and quagga mussels out of area lakes.
The campaign encourages Okanagan residents to be aware of the potential problems introduction of the mussels could create and calls on residents to ask friends and family coming to the valley this summer with watercraft to stop at inspection stations and to clean, drain and dry their boats, other craft and water toys.
Residents who post photos of themselves doing that on Facebook or Instagram, using the hashtag #DontMoveAMussel, and tag Okanagan WaterWise will be entered in a draw to win a prize pack that includes a Yeti cooler.
Also on the conservation front, Vernon and Kelowna have just announced that stage 1 water restrictions are now in effect. Stage 1 limits homeowners to using their irrigation systems and sprinklers to three days a week.
Kelowna also announced it would reduce watering in some public parks.
And a water quality advisory was removed Friday for the 55 properties using the Central Okanagan regional district’s Falcon Ridge system, off Highway 33. The advisory had been in effect since March 19,