County lake under algae watch
Staff writer
Marion County Park and Lake is under a blue-green algae watch after Kansas Department of Health and Environment inspected the lake Wednesday.
Lake superintendent Isaac Hett said KDHE will return Monday to conduct further testing, but the recommendation for now is to prevent children, seniors, and anyone with a poor immune system to stay out of the water. Pets and livestock should not be permitted in the water, Hett said.
Fishing is not prohibited at this time, but any fish caught should be thoroughly washed and skinned before it is cooked, he said.
Hett said he saw suspicious-looking patches near the dam Saturday, then Sunday’s wind seemed to clear it away. On Tuesday, the green patches returned.
“It all came back in one day and got bad in a hurry,” Hett said.
Further testing to determine the harmfulness of the algae will be done Monday.
“If the algae proves to be harmful, they will change it to a warning,” Hett said.