State health and water quality officials urge the public to avoid contact with green or blue water on the Chowan River between Arrowhead Beach in Chowan County and the Occano community in Bertie County.
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality Division of Water Resources notified the public Thursday about the algal blooms that have lingered in the area since Oct. 6.
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The bloom has been observed in the Chowan River at its confluence with Salmon Creek near Occano, near Whites Beach, and at the Arrowhead Beach boat launch.
Cyanobacterial blooms usually appear bright green, but when a bloom starts to decay, the color can change to a milky blue. Decaying algae may produce a strong, foul odor that can impact a large area. Algal blooms tend to move due to wind and wave action.
The division determined the blooms are dominated by species of Dolichospermum, or as Anabaena, and Microcystis, which belong to the algal group cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae.
“Dolichospermum and Microcystis can produce microcystin, an algal toxin that may cause adverse health effects in humans and pets,” division states.
Testing shows that the three sites exceed public health advisory levels. Results are on the division’s Algal Bloom Dashboard.
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The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services Division of Public Health recommends avoiding contact with large accumulations of algae and to prevent children and pets from swimming or ingesting water in an algal bloom.
The state health department suggests the following steps:
- Keep children and pets away from water that appears bright green, blue, discolored, or scummy.
- Do not handle or touch large mats of algae.
- Avoid handling, cooking, or eating dead fish that may be present.
- If you come into contact with an algal bloom, wash thoroughly.
- Use clean water to rinse off pets that may have come into contact with an algal bloom.
- If your child appears ill after being in waters containing an algal bloom, seek medical care immediately.
- If your pet appears to stumble, stagger or collapse after being in a pond, lake or river, seek veterinary care immediately.
To report an algal bloom, contact the nearest DEQ regional office or submit a report online. To view reported algal bloom events, visit the state Fish Kill & Algal Bloom Dashboard.
Officials also remind the public to take precautions as other microorganisms or pollution may be present in waterbodies that can lead to recreational water illness, see https://epi.dph.ncdhhs.gov/cd/water/prevent.html.
