JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. — State health officials are cautioning recreational users and especially their dogs about harmful cyanobacterial blooms (HCB) that could be in some warmer bodies of standing water.
The Wyoming Department of Health on July 30 issue advisories for:
- Big Sandy Reservoir
- Eden Reservoir
- Flaming Gorge Reservoir
- West Granite Springs Reservoir
- Pathfinder Reservoir
- Saratoga Lake
- Woodruff Narrows Reservoir
The Wyoming Department of Health is working directly with resource management agencies to ensure that signs are posted at all waterbodies with advisories.
WDH issues recreational use advisories when cyanobacterial cell densities or cyanotoxin concentrations pose a risk to people engaging in swimming or similar water contact activities in areas where cyanobacterial blooms occur. HCBs may also pose a health risk to animals.
Bloom advisories are issued when a HCB is present and toxins may be present. Toxin advisories are issued when cyanotoxins exceed recreational thresholds. Waterbodies under an advisory are not closed since HCBs may only be present in certain areas and conditions can change frequently.
Advisories will remain in place until blooms have fully dissipated and cyanotoxin concentrations are below recreational use thresholds identified in Wyoming’s HCB Action Plan.
- If you encounter a potential HCB, the Wyoming Department of Health and Wyoming Livestock Board recommend the following:
- Avoid contact with water in the vicinity of the bloom, especially in areas where cyanobacteria are dense and form scums.
- Do not ingest water from the bloom. Boiling, filtration and/or other treatments will not remove toxins.
- Rinse fish with clean water and eat only the fillet portion.
- Avoid water spray from the bloom.
- Do not allow pets or livestock to drink water near the bloom, eat bloom material, or lick fur after contact.
- If people, pets, or livestock come into contact with a bloom, rinse off with clean water as soon as possible and contact a doctor or veterinarian
