Harmful Blue-Green Algal Toxins Found On Tiger Lake; Health Alert Issued By Polk County

LAKE WALES, FL — A health alert has been issued warning boaters and swimmers to stay clear of Tiger Lake in Lake Wales after the Florida Department of Health in Polk County detected harmful blue-green algal toxins in a water sample taken Tuesday.

Residents and visitors are advised to take the following precautions:

• Do not drink, swim, wade, use personal watercraft, water ski or boat in waters where there is a visible bloom.
• Wash your skin and clothing with soap and water if you have contact with algae or discolored or smelly water.
• Keep pets away from the area. Waters where there are algae blooms are not safe for animals. Pets and livestock should have a different source of water when algae blooms are present.
• Do not cook or clean dishes with water contaminated by algae blooms. Boiling the water will not eliminate the toxins.
• Eating fillets from healthy fish caught in freshwater lakes experiencing blooms is safe. Rinse fish fillets with tap or bottled water, throw out the guts and cook the fish well.
• Do not eat shellfish in waters with algae blooms.

Blue-green algae are a type of bacteria that is common in Florida's freshwater environments. A bloom occurs when rapid growth of algae leads to an accumulation of individual cells that discolor water and often produce floating mats that emit unpleasant odors.

Some environmental factors that contribute to blue-green algae blooms are sunny days, warm water temperatures, still water conditions and excess nutrients.

Many types of blue-green algae can produce toxins that can impact human health and ecosystems, including fish and other aquatic animals.

To report a bloom to the Florida Department of Protection, call the toll-free hotline at 855-305-3903. To report fishkills, contact the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute at 1-800-636-0511.